# Well, if we really need a "correct" term for the room with the toilet in it... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 29, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026 "2009-05-29T13:57:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/42 "2009-06-14T09:14:12Z")
I think most Americans just refer to it as the “bathroom” and most bathrooms do have bathing facilities in them. If there is no bath or shower, this room is referred to as a “half bath.” Since Jack Parr left the _Tonight_ Show because they wouldn’t let him use the words “water closet” in a joke in 1960, I have a little porcelain sign on my bathroom door that says “W.C.” I kid you not. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/43 "2009-06-14T12:34:49Z")
> [@Histrion](#): > > As for the device, _urinal_ already appears to be doing part of the job… … so clearly the other part of the job should be done by the word “arsenal”. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/44 "2009-06-15T01:39:04Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > This thread is a few days old, but I want to point out that “pissoir” in French isn’t really a neutral term for a urinal. The most common term is “urinoir”; I would consider “pissoir” vulgar, like “shithouse” in English. But this said, I am currently in Berlin, and I’ve seen a sign (in German and English) asking not to put paper in the “pissoir”. So I guess some people use it, even in writing. In my travels through Europe (including France), I’ve certainly seen and heard “pissoir” many times, but never “urinoir.” Perhaps it’s a Quebecois word? Regardless, I’ll remember that for when I’m next in Quebec. There are some excellent beers brewed there, which usually mean … well, you know. And I’d like to make sure that I get directed to the correct room. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/45 "2009-06-15T02:23:10Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Whenever I’ve visited the US, I’ve heard the word “bathroom” used a lot (no mentined in the article). That always struck me as odd, as here the bathroom is very specifically the room with the bath in it. Here a bathroom with no bath is referred to as a 1/2 bath. Further, a bathroom with a small shower stall but no bath is a 3/4 bath. Thus, the recent real estate ad which claimed a house had 2.25 baths, which took me a while to decipher. I vote for lavatory. Because defecatorium and excretorium both seem to indicate that the guys, at least are in the back yard peeing on the electric fence. As if that room is only used for “number two.” But whatever else we may do in there, we all wash our hands afterwards. Don’t we now? [Glares around the room with the eye of a nun daring schoolboys to react to her order to decline (the verb) “to Come”.] ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/46 "2009-06-15T21:54:38Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > In my travels through Europe (including France), I’ve certainly seen and heard “pissoir” many times, but never “urinoir.” Perhaps it’s a Quebecois word? Huh, how about that. I still think “pissoir” sounds vulgar, in the same way that “pisser” is more vulgar than “uriner”. I’ll try to remember not to let this word shock me too much if I see it in another French-speaking country. But yes, in Quebec the common term for a urinal is “urinoir” and I thought it was also true internationally. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/47 "2009-06-16T02:36:57Z")
I’ve always like “lavatory.” It sounds like where you would spark life into Frankenstein’s monster. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/48 "2009-06-16T12:41:23Z")
> [@Histrion](#): > > To get the ball rolling, I suggest _excretorium_ for the room. As for the device, _urinal_ already appears to be doing part of the job; would _fecenal_ work for the more general-purpose version? I vote for _shittoon_. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/49 "2009-06-16T15:16:44Z")
> [@Cosmic Relief](#): > > I vote for _shittoon_. Pure. Genius. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/50 "2009-06-17T17:18:37Z")
Tincan715 is only partly correct. The head being in the bow of a sailing ship is practical, because on a sailing ship the wind comes roughly from behind. (It may be to one side, but more or less from behind.) Naturally, the ship sails slower than the wind, so the wind blows from the stern towards the bow. Having the head in the bow meant any smells were blown forward, not back through the ship. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/51 "2009-06-17T20:17:34Z")
Are there any former Boy Scouts who are not familiar with the term [“kybo”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outhouse#Kybo)? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/52 "2009-06-17T21:01:27Z")
_raises hand_ Grew up in Arkansas. Not familiar with word “kybo”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/53 "2009-06-18T16:04:39Z")
It was “the wayside” at Medomak Camp for Boys in Washington, Maine, at least back in the 1950s and 60s. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/54 "2009-06-18T18:49:53Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Are there any former Boy Scouts who are not familiar with the term [“kybo”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outhouse#Kybo)? I learned kybo as an acronym for Keep Your Body Orderly. (I see the wiki link claims Keep Your Bowels Open :dubious:) In that sense I associated it with the camp building with showers and sinks. Toilet only bathrooms were not referred to as kybos. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![MtlWriterguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MtlWriterguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MtlWriterguy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/55 "2009-06-19T16:39:03Z")
Or we could just choke back our squeamishness and call it what it is: The toilet or the toilet room. And if we must choose between restroom and washroom, I think washroom is a little closer to the reality. At least, I HOPE you all wash in the restroom! If not, don’t ever shake my hand! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/56 "2009-06-20T09:09:31Z")
> [@MtlWriterguy](#): > > Or we could just choke back our squeamishness and call it what it is: The toilet or the toilet room. You miss the point. Toilet is a euphemism, or at least it started out that way. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/57 "2009-06-21T02:00:14Z")
Yes, “toilet” was just the lady getting dressed and made up in the morning. I’m reading Theodore Dreiser’s _An American Tragedy_ right now, published in 1925, and it has a young man in his early 20s coming down to breakfast “after finishing his toilet,” meaning after he’d shaved and dressed. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026/58 "2009-06-21T03:53:51Z")
Was a scout. Never heard the term “kybo”. Wiki section is undocumented. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-if-we-really-need-a-correct-term-for-the-room-with-the-toilet-in-it/498026.md?page=2)