Where did the term piss poor come from?

Answer 1

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in

a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.......if you had

to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor"

If you were even deeper into poverty you did not even "have a pot to piss in."

This answer, amazingly enough, is provided in August 2009 at the time of a chain email that contains other folk lore. According to an etymology dictionary, the word piss did not come into use until the second world war. Further research may lead you to find that event comes after the dark ages of people pissing in pots.

It is interesting how the internet has the power to generate sideways thinking.

OK if that is the case how come the word is used in The Bible AND was used in 14th Century by Geoffrey Chaucer in a book. I am old enough to know PRE internet folklore and have always known about this one...

Answer 2

The term "piss poor" is believed to originate from the early 19th century when urine was collected and sold by poor people to tanneries for use in processing leather. "Piss poor" was used to describe people who were so poor that their only source of income was selling their urine.