What is slumgullion?

Slumgullion is an inexpensive stew that includes meat, vegetables and potatoes. The word also refers to a drink that is made weak, such as a weak pot of coffee. The term generally refers to garbage and food items that are colloquially likened to garbage, as its root word is "slime."

Another meaning of "slumgullion" is the refuse left after processing a whale carcass. The reddish muddy deposits left behind by certain types of mining are also slumgullion. This term originated in the 1840s as an Americanism, though it is similar to the Scottish word "gullion," which refers to a cesspool.