# Number One, Number Two. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141 "2018-02-19T20:07:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/1 "2018-02-19T20:07:45Z")
Where did the convention start, that “number two” = bowel movement and “number one” = pee? I did look it up once in my dictionary. It didn’t give an origin. But it did list it as “baby talk”. That one has me even more flustered. Because I still use it today. It actually is a very nice way of being delicate about it, when you have to. BTW this reminds me of something funny, I might as well share with you. When I was a little boy, I’d sometimes told my mother I had to go " number 3". What on earth does that mean? Numbers one and two together. I.e., 1+2;). But back to my point: where did it originate? And is it primarily baby talk? And while we’re at it, when did it originate, and who was the first to use it? 🙂 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/2 "2018-02-19T20:19:01Z")
The [Partridge Dictionary of Slang](https://books.google.com.pa/books?id=abYBCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13570&lpg=PT13570&dq=number+two+dictionary+of+slang&source=bl&ots=sBzyaJ_pJX&sig=yj1JIqsYboE1WubMypCa7aPfS4w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixtfD55bLZAhXNtVMKHRgHB6YQ6AEIezAH#v=onepage&q=number%20two%20dictionary%20of%20slang&f=false)gives its first use in that sense in 1936, and its origin US. It was certainly in common use when I was a kid in the 1950s. In my experience, it’s used mostly in talking to kids. When adults use it, it’s mostly as a joke. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/3 "2018-02-19T20:25:47Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Because I still use it today. It actually is a very nice way of being delicate about it, when you have to. May I ask, when do find that this needs to be specified? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/4 "2018-02-19T20:25:48Z")
So far as I can recall, we did not use it when I was a kid in the U.K. (late baby boomer). ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/5 "2018-02-19T20:30:35Z")
The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang also gives 1936 as the first citation for “number two” but has a 1902 citation for “number one”, in _Slang and Its Analogues_, a British publication. It does not suggest a derivation for either one. As a kid, I believed that “number one” = “urination” because the numeral is straight, like a penis. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/6 "2018-02-19T20:53:17Z")
I always assumed it was rhyming slang, number two = poo. Google shows a lot of other people have come up with the same folk etymology. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/7 "2018-02-19T21:02:04Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I always assumed it was rhyming slang, number two = poo. Google shows a lot of other people have come up with the same folk etymology. If pee were No.3 this hypothesis would be more credible. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/8 "2018-02-19T22:17:19Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > As a kid, I believed that “number one” = “urination” because the numeral is straight, like a penis. What did the shape of the number 2 mean??! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/9 "2018-02-19T22:24:48Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If pee were No.3 this hypothesis would be more credible. Well, “number one” means “me” which rhymes with pee. I’ll get me coat. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/10 "2018-02-19T22:26:08Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Well, “number one” means “me” which rhymes with pee. I agree that you’re number one. But then you = poo. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/11 "2018-02-19T22:33:50Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Well, “number one” means “me” which rhymes with pee. > > I’ll get me coat. Your peacoat? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/12 "2018-02-19T22:39:34Z")
Maybe at this point, someone should come up with a list of euphemisms for defecation and urination. Here is a link to one:- [http://www.koransky.com/other/euphemismsforrectalfunctions.txt](http://www.koransky.com/other/euphemismsforrectalfunctions.txt) ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/13 "2018-02-19T22:40:09Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > May I ask, when do find that this needs to be specified? Any time that there are two people in need of using the same bathroom, getting an idea of how long the other person is likely to be in there is VERY helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/14 "2018-02-19T22:45:32Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > May I ask, when do find that this needs to be specified? You may wish to indicate that the person you are talking to would be well to wait a certain amount of time before using the same bathroom. Sometimes it’s the kind thing to do. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/15 "2018-02-19T23:48:24Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You may wish to indicate that the person you are talking to would be well to wait a certain amount of time before using the same bathroom. Sometimes it’s the kind thing to do. 🙂 [Why](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b505lun45Y)? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/16 "2018-02-20T00:01:38Z")
When I was in first grade (1944), if you had to go to the bathroom, you needed to raise your hand. It was “well known” that raising your hand with your index finger extended meant you had to pee, and with two fingers in a V meant you had to poo, and the teacher’s discretionary permission to leave the room was guided accordingly. It was many, many years later before I ever heard Number One and Number Two used in conversation. I always presumed that the signal was a part of the practical workshop curriculum at the state normal school, where suitable young women were uniformly trained for the pedagogical profession. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/17 "2018-02-20T01:52:37Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang also gives 1936 as the first citation for “number two” but has a 1902 citation for “number one”, in _Slang and Its Analogues_, a British publication. It does not suggest a derivation for either one. As a kid, I believed that “number one” = “urination” because the numeral is straight, like a penis. Actually, Farmer & Henley(UK) had both in their 1902 edition. Both listed as “Nursery.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/18 "2018-02-20T03:02:21Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Any time that there are two people in need of using the same bathroom, getting an idea of how long the other person is likely to be in there is VERY helpful. And when someone’s toilet is half-broken and should not be dumped in. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141/19 "2018-02-20T04:10:22Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > When I was in first grade (1944), if you had to go to the bathroom, you needed to raise your hand. It was “well known” that raising your hand with your index finger extended meant you had to pee, and with two fingers in a V meant you had to poo, and the teacher’s discretionary permission to leave the room was guided accordingly. Way back when he was funny (1960’s), Bill Cosby talked about Kindergarten and described the permission protocol as “one finger if you want to do _one_ thing, two fingers if you want to do anything else.”