# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/161 "2010-11-29T14:13:26Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > My California born and raised wife almost always refers to it, at least in front of friends and family, as “the potty,” or she says something like “I need to go potty.” (I think she would use “bathroom” in front of strangers.) > > Where I come from, only small children defecate or urinate in a potty, and if someone goes potty, they are going slightly insane. I know several grown women, mostly over 50, who announce to the room that they “have to tinkle!” ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/162 "2010-11-30T03:19:45Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Since when, and where? I’ve never in my life heard that from an American from any part of the country - I’ve only heard “toilet” to refer to “porcelain fixture on which you poop”. I agree. I’ve lived in the Midwest, the Deep Sooooouth, and southern California, and taught students of almost extremely different backgrounds, and I don’t think anyone every has called the room the toilet. I’m positive that if you said something to that effect in my classes, the kids would make fun of you for not being able to put your dirty stuff where it belongs, and instead leave it all over the room. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/163 "2010-11-30T03:29:31Z")
Well I grew up with an outside dunny, so asking where the bathroom was would have had me directed to the laundry. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/164 "2010-11-30T03:41:11Z")
I think the main reason for the difference is that we don’t have a room called the toilet - and the UK, NZ, etc does. We have the bathroom, so people ask where that is, rather than asking about an item within that room. For what it’s worth, I don’t think people would be offended by you asking where the toilet was - it would just be odd, because the answer is, obiously, “in the bathroom.” ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi-Ian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9fc348/32.png) [@Kiwi-Ian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi-Ian)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/165 "2015-11-23T01:38:22Z")
Where do Americans pee? I ask because most of the responses above regarding what a toilet is refer to the porcelain object where one defecates. So if one defecates in the toilet, in the room called a bathroom even though it probably doesn’t have a bath, where does one pee? The basin? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/166 "2015-11-23T02:01:42Z")
> [@Kiwi-Ian](#): > > Where do Americans pee? > > I ask because most of the responses above regarding what a toilet is refer to the porcelain object where one defecates. > > So if one defecates in the toilet, in the room called a bathroom even though it probably doesn’t have a bath, where does one pee? The basin? Many public men’s rooms have **urinals** for peeing in; but other than that, we pee into the same fixture we poop into: the toilet. ---
**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 23, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/167 "2015-11-23T04:43:37Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > For what it’s worth, I don’t think people would be offended by you asking where the toilet was - it would just be odd, because the answer is, obiously, “in the bathroom.” Yes, in my Australian house the toilet is a room with the throne and a sink off the laundry, the bathroom is on the other side of the house with numerous doorways in between. Even when I lived in flats/apartments/units only the tiniest had the toilet in the bathroom, it was usually a room next to it. I suspect it is part of the evolution from outside to indoor toilets and the discomfort with that. My area was built in the 60s, I note the untouched house of an elderly neighbour had the toilet off the back verandah so you went outside to use a room that could just as easily have had a doorway internally. The first house I owned was similar though someone had long since built walls around it. They have all had louvre windows that do not close for ventilation. When it doesn’t get truly cold things like keeping the toilet far away from other activities doesn’t really need to change. I imagine in some parts of the USA moving from outhouses to bathrooms would be more a miracle than an ick. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/168 "2015-11-23T06:38:14Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > You want to take a bath? Would a shower do? This is a restaurant; we don’t have bathing facilities. Oh? You want to shit? Then you need the toilet which is in this room all by itself. > “Rest?” are you tired? You can rest right where you are. We can even bring you a pillow. All by itself? No sink to wash your hands when you’re finished? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/169 "2015-11-23T06:39:28Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > That’s not normal. Most Americans will refer to the room as the toilet. No, we would not. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/170 "2015-11-23T15:27:31Z")
[Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/574/why-do-we-call-it-the-john) on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/171 "2015-11-23T16:24:23Z")
> [@Kiwi-Ian](#): > > Where do Americans pee? > > I ask because most of the responses above regarding what a toilet is refer to the porcelain object where one defecates. > > So if one defecates in the toilet, in the room called a bathroom even though it probably doesn’t have a bath, where does one pee? The basin? 😕 Where do you pee if \*\*not \*\*in a toilet (urinal if you are male)? ---
**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 23, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/172 "2015-11-23T18:36:33Z")
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. There are several terms—restroom, bathroom, men’s/ladies’ room, (washroom in Canada), etc. these terms are little different than the loo, the lavatory/lav, or the W.C. Euphemisms are common, not just among Americans. Some older people might say they’d like to “wash my hands” or “powder my nose.” An old-fashioned term for the ladies’ room is the “powder room.” Some people ask for “the facilities,” but even that is drawing attention to the use of the euphemism as opposed to the ordinary “restroom/bathroom.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/173 "2015-11-23T19:21:59Z")
> [@Kiwi-Ian](#): > > So if one defecates in the toilet, in the room called a bathroom even though it probably doesn’t have a bath, where does one pee? The basin? Hey, we’re low class, but we’re not Irish. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/174 "2015-11-23T20:53:56Z")
Apropos of really nothing, but this thread is 5 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/175 "2015-11-23T21:32:34Z")
And after that long it gets stinky, no matter where you pee. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/176 "2015-11-23T21:43:45Z")
FYI, 6 year old thread. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/177 "2015-11-23T23:00:04Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > FYI, 6 year old thread. You think American views on toilet matters have changed? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/178 "2015-11-24T00:58:47Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > In the UK “toilet” is considered to be a lower class word by experts on good manners and etiquette. According to them the correct word to use is “lavatory”. Sounds suspect. The real upper-classes haven’t anyone to impress (and wouldn’t care anyway) and would indeed ask for the toilet (or the loo, or whatever they’re calling it this week; Jilly Cooper once said that they change what they call the loo once the upper-middles cop to the name du jour). It’s the lower-middle classes that want to frou-frou things up and will use words like “lavatory” or (god forbid) “the little boy’s/girl’s room”. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/179 "2015-11-24T16:53:08Z")
Toilet is also a euphemism, an old French word meaning “dressing room.” So the Brits and Aussies are just as bashful as the rest of us, and more old fashioned to boot. ETA: Wendel Wagner made that point 6 years ago and I missed it. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329/180 "2015-11-25T01:14:14Z")
In the film “Idiocracy”, people in the future snicker when you request water because that’s something you find in the toilet and hardly anywhere else as they replaced water with Gatorade for most uses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-the-word-toilet-in-the-us/501329.md?page=10)