"if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" meaning in English

See if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Phrase

Etymology: Initially coined during one of the California droughts. Head templates: {{head|en|phrase}} if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down
  1. In order to save water, only flush the toilet after defecation, not after urination.
    Sense id: en-if_it's_yellow_let_it_mellow,_if_it's_brown_flush_it_down-en-phrase-mdtI6liE Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries
{
  "etymology_text": "Initially coined during one of the California droughts.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phrase"
      },
      "expansion": "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008, Ethan Greenhart, Can I Recycle My Granny?: And Other Eco-dilemmas, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Never mind 'If it's yellow, let it mellow – if it's brown, flush it down.' My motto is: 'If it's brown, spread it on the ground – if it's yellow, recycle it like a good fellow.'",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Melissa Seligman, David Seligman, Simply Green, →ISBN, page 99:",
          "text": "The first obvious difference you can make is simply to choose not to flush every time. If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Vanessa Farquharson, Sleeping Naked Is Green, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Here is what I will say about the “If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down” rule: this is fine, providing you drink a lot of water.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In order to save water, only flush the toilet after defecation, not after urination."
      ],
      "id": "en-if_it's_yellow_let_it_mellow,_if_it's_brown_flush_it_down-en-phrase-mdtI6liE",
      "links": [
        [
          "save",
          "save"
        ],
        [
          "water",
          "water"
        ],
        [
          "flush",
          "flush"
        ],
        [
          "toilet",
          "toilet"
        ],
        [
          "defecation",
          "defecation"
        ],
        [
          "urination",
          "urination"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "Initially coined during one of the California droughts.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phrase"
      },
      "expansion": "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English phrases",
        "English rhyming phrases",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008, Ethan Greenhart, Can I Recycle My Granny?: And Other Eco-dilemmas, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Never mind 'If it's yellow, let it mellow – if it's brown, flush it down.' My motto is: 'If it's brown, spread it on the ground – if it's yellow, recycle it like a good fellow.'",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Melissa Seligman, David Seligman, Simply Green, →ISBN, page 99:",
          "text": "The first obvious difference you can make is simply to choose not to flush every time. If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Vanessa Farquharson, Sleeping Naked Is Green, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Here is what I will say about the “If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down” rule: this is fine, providing you drink a lot of water.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In order to save water, only flush the toilet after defecation, not after urination."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "save",
          "save"
        ],
        [
          "water",
          "water"
        ],
        [
          "flush",
          "flush"
        ],
        [
          "toilet",
          "toilet"
        ],
        [
          "defecation",
          "defecation"
        ],
        [
          "urination",
          "urination"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-20 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (ee63ee9 and 4230888). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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