# whats the big deal with the word "toilet" in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2009, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329 "2009-06-29T10:55:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/181 "2015-11-27T01:38:17Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > 😕 Where do you pee if \*\*not \*\*in a toilet (urinal if you are male)? Well, the sink is just about the perfect height. 🆒 And there’s always the shower. IT’S ALL PIPES! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/182 "2015-11-27T03:54:05Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Some people are reading too much into this. The toilet is called the “toilet.” However if you are in a polite social occasion or at a place of business, it’s felt as being too graphic to ask for the toilet. I do not agree that it’s called the toilet. I can say I cannot remember a single time an American has asked for the toilet or referred to a room with a toilet in it as a toilet. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/183 "2015-11-27T03:57:29Z")
I lost patience with this sort of mealy mouthed euphemism when I heard someone talking about a dog “going to the bathroom”. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/184 "2015-11-27T14:09:06Z")
Oh, the euphemisms for elimination (come to think of it, elimination is a bit of a euphemism, too). My favorite is “I need to steal a mirror”. I’ll have to admit, few catch the reference. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/185 "2015-11-27T15:31:44Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I do not agree that it’s called the toilet. I can say I cannot remember a single time an American has asked for the toilet or referred to a room with a toilet in it as a toilet. Do you disagree? Or have you just misunderstood? Because you use toilet in exactly the way I did. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/186 "2015-11-27T17:19:17Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Sounds suspect. The real upper-classes haven’t anyone to impress (and wouldn’t care anyway) . Last time I hung out with the Queen she called it the Shitter. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/187 "2015-11-27T17:21:47Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > I lost patience with this sort of mealy mouthed euphemism when I heard someone talking about a dog “going to the bathroom”. But I also don’t want to hear that someone else’s dog has been pooping or shitting or pissing or whatever. “The dog had to go” might be good enough, if it’s necessary to bring up and most of the time, it’s not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/188 "2015-11-29T06:17:19Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Do you disagree? Or have you just misunderstood? Because you use toilet in exactly the way I did. I read what you said as meaning the room with the toilet in it is called “the toilet”, but people are too polite to ask for it. I then said the room with the toilet in it is not ever called “the toilet” in the US [even if someone weren’t being polite]. So I guess I misunderstood. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/189 "2015-11-29T20:30:42Z")
OK, now we know where/ on what Dopers are fixated. Just for the hell of it: In old houses in San Francisco (pre-Depression), there are/were ‘Split Baths’ - the toilet (properly called a Water Closet) is in one room, the tub and lavy are in a separate room. I don’t know if this was an early solution to accommodate 2 users at the same time, or was the result of "You’re going to do _WHAT_ INSIDE THE HOUSE?! In current use in the US: Quarter bath - water closet only Half Bath - W/C and lavy 3/4 Bath - W/C, lavy, shower Full Bath - W/C, lavy Tub (with or without shower) In some ares, a 3/4 is called a Full. I have never seen the term ‘3/4 Bath’ in CA. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/190 "2015-11-29T23:58:05Z")
What is a lavy? Basin/sink I am guessing from context but here that would be referring again to the toilet (lavatory). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/191 "2015-11-30T00:40:16Z")
Well if you go by original meanings, the water closet is a type of pipe that uses water to suppress the escape of noxious odors into the house, and the lavatory is the washbasin. Either one can now be used to refer to the facilities in general. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/192 "2015-11-30T00:45:28Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > the water closet is a type of pipe that uses water to suppress the escape of noxious odors into the house Isn’t that pretty much what a bathroom is for? To keep the noxious odors escaping your anus from infesting the living area? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/193 "2015-11-30T01:18:56Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It’s not offensive, just unusual. In American English, “Toilet” refers specifically to the plumbing fixture in which one customarily deposits their shit. So saying “where is the toilet” is akin to asking “where can I eject massive quantities of feces and make loud fart noises with abandon?” > > Instead, one asks “where is the bathroom” or “where is the restroom,” which is akin to, “where is a room that has a toilet in it where I may engage in unspecified activities which I am too polite to mention?” > > This way, you’re covered whether you need to crap or just snort a line. Oh I laughed so hard when I read this post. Thanks, I really needed that just now. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/194 "2015-11-30T01:34:13Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Isn’t that pretty much what a bathroom is for? To keep the noxious odors escaping your anus from infesting the living area? Before the invention of the water closet, it was very rare to have bathrooms in proximity with the living areas of the house, because you couldn’t prevent the gases from backing into the house. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/195 "2015-11-30T01:44:19Z")
Another bit of trivia: high up on the outer edge of a castle wall, there would be a wooden shelf with a hole in it for toilet purposes. Enough of the waste would stick to the side of the outer wall that the smell inside the room—the _garderobe_—was strong enough to repel moths. Do they started storing their clothes in the garderobe. That’s why a _wardrobe_ today is s place for storing clothes. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/196 "2015-11-30T02:19:00Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Before the invention of the water closet, it was very rare to have bathrooms in proximity with the living areas of the house, because you couldn’t prevent the gases from backing into the house. True. The upper classes in ancient Rome may have had indoor toilets (in addition to running water), but said toilets were basically just outhouses over an open sewer and were located as far from the living quarters as possible. I imagine that most of the time the family would just use chamber pots and let the slaves worry about emptying them. If that doesn’t squick you out _public_ toilets offered no privacy whatsoever and everyone shared communal sponges for cleanup. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/197 "2015-11-30T02:37:53Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Another bit of trivia: high up on the outer edge of a castle wall, there would be a wooden shelf with a hole in it for toilet purposes. Enough of the waste would stick to the side of the outer wall that the smell inside the room—the _garderobe_—was strong enough to repel moths. Do they started storing their clothes in the garderobe. That’s why a _wardrobe_ today is s place for storing clothes. To be clear, I don’t know whether this is actually true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329.md?page=9)