This morning as I was coming out of mass, two middle-aged women, obviously tourists, stopped me to ask questions about the church. We talked for a few minutes and then one asked me whether there were any restrooms in the church. I gave them the usual directions that I’ve given to many others…“left through the gate, then straight ahead. The toilets are on your right at the end of the courtyard”. At the word “toilets” both women pursed their lips and looked quite offended, as though I had said something quite dreadful.
Just to explain, in North America we don’t usually use the word “toilet” to refer to the washroom. It would be kind of crude. Not that it’s your fault for using the language you’re used to – they should have been prepared for the situation, like a Briton not being offended to hear an American say she fell right on her fanny.
In my section of North America, toilet is acceptable and used quite often. I’ve been to many restaurants which will call them that on the signage (although more call them restrooms).
These were major league prudes. Some people are offended by life, and I do nothing to work around them.
Good thing I don’t serve the public, at large, for my paycheck. I’d go hungry.
The funniest response is to have toilets seperate from other bathroom-like facilities, and direct people to the wrong one until they say “toilet”. But it’s very petty.
“Toilet” is now, however, part of the London East End gangster lexicon. Similar to ‘muppet’ but more insulting. “Tell me where the money is, you fucking toilet.”
The ladies could have come from the American South. For some reason, refering to the toilets as “toilets” is verboten to people over a certain age. I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that ladies over a certain age do not, in fact, have bodily functions.
They probably were just looking for a quiet place to break some seriously atrocious wind and were insulted at your intimation that some actual loaf pinchage might be involved. I imagine that after a goodly reduction of the pressure hammering at their collective buttholes that they would have been more more amenable to your suggestion that they had to go shit.
I see you say this already, matt, but I gotta reiterate: as a traveller, it’s irresponsible not to know what the local customs are of the area you’re visiting. Tho’ you might not call it a “toilet,” they do - and you need to understand that.
Sometimes, however, people are just looking for a reason to be offended.