There’s a thread in MPSIMS asking about toilet hygene, and it makes use of the euphamisms “number one” and “number two” for urination and defecation. Like many (or most?) people in this country, I was taught those euphamisms as a child. It seems silly to me today, as “Mommy, I have to go number two!” doesn’t really sound all that different from “Mommy, I have to go poo!” (Although I suppose if I heard a kid say, “Mommy, I have to make a big steaming pile of shit!” I might wonder about the parents’ social and parenting skills.)
In any case… “Number one” and “number two” seem to be universal euphamisms in American English. In The Young Ones “Summer Holiday”, Jerzei Balowski says, “That’s 97 pounds you owe me. Number Two…” Rick giggles and says, “He said ‘number twos’.” That leads me to believe that the euphamisms are common in England.
How widespread are these euphamisms? Do German children say, “Mutti! Ich muss Nummer zwei!”? Are the phrases known throughout the English-speaking world; or just in the U.S. and England (and, I assume, Canada)?
So what’s the poop on “number two” and “number one”?
Its certainly recognised in Australia though im not too sure how widely used. The nurse when I was at hospital seemed to have a problem describing the act of expulsion of fecal matter any other way even when I persisted in using defacate.
I was taught different euphemisms as a child, as a result I had no idea what kids were talking about, when they said ‘number one’ or ‘number two’. Finally I had to ask. :o
I remember hearing the phrase used for the first time when I was a kid, but I knew instinctively what they were talking about and which was which - I just puzzled over the fact that I’d never heard anyone say it before.
In Germany children do “großes Geschäft” (big business) and “kleines Geschäft” (small business) or shorter “groß” and “klein” (big and small). You may figure out what means what.
I’m assuming these euphemisms developed for use in schools so little Sally could excuse herself to the restroom without having to say such indelicate and potentially embarassing phrases as “poop,” “pee,” “defecate,” etc. Since this method seems to be standard across schoolchildren today, they must have come into being at some certain time and place. Anybody know when or where?
Lighter cites “Number one” in print first in 1902, in a book about slang terms. So it obviously went back some farther. He cites “number two” only in print from 1936.
Qadgop the Mercotan: That reminds me of a joke I thought was very funny when I was six. A little boy is taught that urination is “whispering”. His visiting uncle didn’t know about the child’s euphamism, so when the boy said he had to “whisper”, the uncle said, “Well, just whisper in my ear!” Or something like that.
samclem: I see Lighter referenced frequently on these boards, but I’m not familiar with him. Do his books cite the first usage of a word or phrase in print? It seems odd that a book would use “number one” in 1902, but not until 1936 is “number two” printed in a book. Certainly the use of both phrases must have come about at the same time?
It seems that the phrases “number one” and “number two” are common throughout the English-speaking countries. I wonder if this gives people who speak other languages trouble. For example, in Japan “Ichiban” means “Number One”, or “The Best”.
JE Lighter edited(actually is totally responsible for) a series of books called properly Random House Dictionary of American Slang. It exists, currently in two volumes(A-G, and H-O}. Hopefully there will be a Vol III, but internal squabbles exist.
Lighter did for American Slang what the OED did for the English language. It represents the best, most current, most authoratative source for American Slang. A massive, well-researched project. Of course, just as with the OED, there are always new “finds” out there, constantly extending the time frames.
The 1902 cite for “number one” was found in a series of slang dictionaries published in seven volumes in London by Farmer and Henley. It was one of the earliest dictionaries to contain sexual and scatalogical terms.
I agree with you that the “number two” was probably in use at the same time. Other than appearing in FH dictionary, Lighter cites “number one” in print from 1934.
these terms are used among the english speaking and the hindi speaking populations of India. i would assume they are also common in the other few hundred languages in the country, but i’m not quite sure.
