Meanings
plural yards of pump water
- UKUSdialectalSomething which is very straight and very thin.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:a yard of pump water.
1 more example
as/so thin as a yard of pump water; as skinny as a yard of pump-water; as straight as a yard of pump-water; like a yard of pump water
Origin
Perhaps because a stream of water falling approximately three feet from a water pump into a bucket is both straight and thin; but compare also yard of ale, where the yard is a tall, slender, hollow receptacle.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
a yard of pump water. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20yard%20of%20pump%20water
“a yard of pump water.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20yard%20of%20pump%20water. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a yard of pump water,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20yard%20of%20pump%20water.
Source: a yard of pump water on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.