swill

[ swil ]

noun

1. liquid or partly liquid food for animals, especially kitchen refuse given to swine; hogwash.
2. kitchen refuse in general; garbage.
3. any liquid mess, waste, or refuse; slop.
4. a deep draught of liquor.
5. contemptibly worthless utterance or writing; drivel.

verb (used without object)

1. to drink greedily or excessively.

verb (used with object)

1. to drink (something) greedily or to excess; guzzle.
2. to feed (animals) with swill:

   to swill hogs.

3. Chiefly British. to wash by rinsing or flooding with water.

swill

/ swɪl /

verb

1. to drink large quantities of (liquid, esp alcoholic drink); guzzle
2. troften foll byout to drench or rinse in large amounts of water
3. tr to feed swill to (pigs, etc)

noun

1. wet feed, esp for pigs, consisting of kitchen waste, skimmed milk, etc
2. garbage or refuse, esp from a kitchen
3. a deep draught of drink, esp beer
4. any liquid mess
5. the act of swilling

Derived Forms

• ˈswiller, noun

Other Words From

• swiller noun
• un·swilled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of swill¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English verb swilen “to wash, swirl,” Old English swilian, swillan

Word History and Origins

Origin of swill¹

Old English swilian to wash out

Example Sentences

She swills gin after returning home from her job at the post office, swoons moodily to “Moon River” on the radio and wonders how it all went wrong.

From Los Angeles Times

Today, we publish swill because we cannot get anything better – lest we risk going to prison.

From Salon

By the end of the movie Swayze’s "cooler" has stopped a JCPenney department store from ruining the town’s all-American tanginess, or whatever, and heads off to spruce up some other fetid swill hole.

From Salon

This is the swill you want from Black authors?

From New York Times

That’s a bitter pill to add to the daily congressional swill.

From Salon

More About Swill

What does swill mean?

Swill commonly refers to writing, talk, or some other kind of content that’s considered to be pointless, worthless, or to have no value.

This figurative sense of the word is used to criticize such things and is based on the original, literal meaning of swill: liquid or partly liquid food for animals, especially kitchen waste fed to pigs.

A close synonym for both of these senses of swill is hogwash.

Swill is also commonly used to refer to a drink that’s considered disgusting or of poor quality, such as a cheap beer.

More generally, it can refer to any garbage, especially liquid or semiliquid food waste. A close synonym for this sense of swill is slop.

Swill can also be used as a verb meaning to drink excessively or too quickly—perhaps like a pig at a trough. A close synonym is guzzle.

Example: I can’t believe they print this swill, and I can’t believe people pay to read it!

Where does swill come from?

The first records of the word swill come from before 900. It comes from the Old English verb swilian, meaning “to wash out.”

Swill is used to dismiss writing and other content (such as political rhetoric) that’s poorly done or just plain bad. The words hogwash, slop, garbage, and trash can all be used to mean the same thing. The same idea is behind calling a drink swill. The metaphor is that such things are of the lowest possible quality and only fit for those who will consume anything—even garbage. In this way, calling something swill is often a criticism both of the person or people who created it and the people who consume it.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms of swill?

• swiller (noun)

What are some synonyms for swill?

• hogwash
• drivel
• slop
• garbage
• refuse
• guzzle

What are some words that often get used in discussing swill?

 

• writing
• drink
• alcohol
• political
• rhetoric
• speech
• talk
• pig
• hog
• swine

How is swill used in real life?

Swill is most commonly used in a figurative way to refer to writing and drinks considered especially bad.

Eating a wrap in EAT on my lonesome. Have the Daily Mail next to me but I'd rather stare at the coffee machine than read that swill.

— David Ames (@semadivad) November 3, 2010

Why are so many celebrities being bamboozled into making terrible wines? They have the money, the resources.. I just can’t believe they all want to make commercial swill. Why aren’t they doing the research?

— Victoria James (@Geturgrapeon) July 16, 2020

It always surprises me how many people think Mountain Dew is good. They probably like that Sunny Delight stuff, too. It’s swill!

— Kevin Kelly (@Kevinisaplaceo1) July 20, 2020

 

 

Try using swill!

Which of the following words is least likely to be used to describe something considered swill?

A. disgusting
B. excellent
C. trashy
D. stupid