Strangely, however, it is mostly documented in late twentieth-century sources, but that probably shows how it lives on in the collective memory. “For the common folk, the cludgie was a communal affair. The landings and half landings of tenement stairs became the lair of the loo, shared between up to six families. There are still people today telling terrifying tales of childhood late night trips to the freezing lavvy on the landing. Other Scots “toilet” words are frequently incorporated in the term too, cludgie being one of them - as in this example: “Sandra laughs: ‘The kids, who are used to large bathrooms and en suite toilets, thought the “stairheid cludgie” (or shared communal toilet) was very bizarre’”.

Source: The Herald November 16, 2024 16:36 UTC