Edinburgh Tales #3: Sh!t-faced Drunk

As you walk around the beautiful 'old town' of Edinburgh (slightly ironically named, as ALL of Edinburgh is old, just that the 'old town' is a bit older than the 'new town'), you might notice that many of the tall townhouses have rather luxurious-looking first floor apartments; they often have gorgeous balconies, which the other floors do not have, and generally look much more up-market and better kept than the rest of the building.  The reason for this is a historical one, and has a pretty hilarious relevance to an expression that still we use today!

There are many common reasons for placing high value on first floor apartments, as opposed to ground floor or much higher floors, and I am sure you are familiar with them (especially if you have lived in city apartment buildings); you don't have to worry so much about burglary or privacy, as perhaps you would if your apartment was at ground floor level and looked directly onto the street, and you don't have to walk up mountains of stairs to get home everyday, which is especially inconvenient in old buildings where there are surely no elevators!  But in the old days in Edinburgh there was an extra reason for desiring an apartment on the first floor instead of any other floor. 

Up until the early 20th century, Edinburgh did not have a proper sewage or waste system installed!  This meant that everybody had to chuck all their waste, and I mean ALL their waste, out of their windows onto the streets below.  Some parts of the Royal Mile - the old (often extremely narrow) streets and courtyards in the Old Town - were constantly knee deep in this nastiness.  Can you just imagine how horrific and unbearable it would be to live on the ground floor or, even worse, in the basements, in this kind of environment!?

In order to try and gain some kind of civility, a French phrase was adopted, 'Regardez l'eau', meaning 'watch out for the water' (although water was the least of it).  'Regardez l'eau' was quickly turned into 'Gardy Loo' by the Scots, who were supposed to yell this before throwing our their waste, to warn and save the poor hapless people down below from a terrible experience!  I am imagining the panic and fear of hearing those fateful words, 'Gardy Loo!'. 

In 1749, a 'Nastiness Act' was passed, which meant that it was only allowed to throw your waste out of the windows between 10pm and 7am.  Now, it's no secret that the Scots love a drink - this is definitely a country of fantastic whiskey and beer.  So, picture this, if you will.  The poor worker, who has had a few too many drams, makes his way home late one night, hears the dreaded 'GARDY LOO' but is unfortunately a little to slow and encumbered to get himself out of the way in time.... hence the coining of the phrase 'shit-faced drunk'!  What a souvenir to have of such a time! 

Eventually, a proper sewage system was installed in Edinburgh, which must have been a huge relief for everyone.  However, the Nastiness Act was actually never repealed - if you wanted to, it would be perfectly legal for you to throw your waste out of your window over night!  Might not go down so well with your neighbours though... 

Read 'Edinburgh Tales #1: In Celebration of a Terrible Poet' here!

Read 'Edinburgh Tales #2: Maggie Dickson' here!

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