the Wash
/ðə ˈwɒʃ/
/ðə ˈwɑːʃ/
- a large, shallow bay on the east coast of England, where the North Sea separates the counties of Norfolk to the south and Lincolnshire to the north. Many English people know the story of how in 1216 King John lost his luggage and some of his men when they tried to cross the Wash where the water was shallow, during a military campaign.