Sawdust

[tezzer]

When we had high street butchers shops why were the floors always covered in sawdust?

[woofgang]

to catch the blood from the butchered meat!

[alan30]

Have seen it in pubs too years ago- sawdust not the blood!

[Chessman]

woofgang is 100% correct.

[spudqueen]

We've still got high street butchers, though there's no sawdust on the customers side. Don't know about the other side of the counter though.

[jno]

suppose it was the same reason they used to have sawdust on the floor of public bars...

[SteveD]

The expression "Spit and Sawdust" comes to mind (referring to pubs rather than butchers' shops I hope).

[Octavius]

Sawdust was sprinkled on the floor to catch meat drippings and inhibit odours, not that I ever remember that working, but apparently it was swept up every night and a new layer sprinkled every morning.

I understand that a spit and sawdust pub is a throw back from the old days when spittoons were provided for customers to spit into and sawdust to mop up the product from poor shots, spilt beer or blood from any fight which might have broken out. The phrase is still used today although these types of pub are few and far between nowadays (thankfully). Spitting has almost entirely died out with the decline in 'baccy' chewing that produced the need to spit.

[Powell1975]

My pub still has sawdust on the floor !! something to do with spillage