# What's Your Usual Term For a Bathroom? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866 "2013-03-03T01:18:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/61 "2013-03-04T01:14:06Z")
Bathroom. Occasionally, the shitatorium. At work we all call it the library. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/62 "2013-03-04T01:28:07Z")
Bathroom in most circumstances, toilet for less classy company. If I want to mention that I’m going out without saying something vulgar like “bathroom” or “toilet” or “I have to go pee” I say “powder room.” It always gets a chuckle out of people and technically speaking means a very classy old-world type room to go to. ---
**Author:** ![TurboNuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@TurboNuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TurboNuke)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/63 "2013-03-04T01:42:32Z")
The head. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/64 "2013-03-04T01:50:13Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > Bathroom in most circumstances, toilet for less classy company. > > If I want to mention that I’m going out without saying something vulgar like “bathroom” or “toilet” or “I have to go pee” I say “powder room.” It always gets a chuckle out of people and technically speaking means a very classy old-world type room to go to. It’s funny how we have a different term depending on the company we’re in. I like to call it something I think will amuse my company. If I’m with my friends in a divey place I like to say that I’m retiring for a spell in the Gentlemen’s Lounge or the powder room. If I’m in polite company or in a foo foo place I like to say I have to hit the head or I’m off to find the pisser. But, then again, I’m weird. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/65 "2013-03-04T02:24:46Z")
The Jakes. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/66 "2013-03-04T02:48:53Z")
Nobody else use/heard the common pinoy term CR? ( Comfort Room) ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/67 "2013-03-04T03:42:09Z")
Yard, Lawn, outside or ‘[Groover](http://kayak.nrsweb.com/boating/Groover?utm_campaign=sli_champion&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=champ_se&utm_term=sli_Groover)’ ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/68 "2013-03-04T05:54:49Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I am well aware of that. I was making the point that the usage is systematically ambiguous. Actual rooms with baths or other washing equipment in them need not contain a toilet, and I am reasonably sure that they sometimes do not, even in the USA. I am sure that in the USA there are also rooms with no bath but a toilet, and there are probably some (perhaps rarely) with a toilet but neither a bath nor basin. Certainly in the UK, and I expect in other countries, this latter arrangement is common (although a room where you can was will normally be immediately adjacent, if this is the case). The common American use of “bathroom” to mean “room where there is a toilet” is a euphemism that can easily lead to confusion. The OP invited such confusions, and does not seem to have considered the fact that many people who see this poll will not be American. The poll really should have accounted for that. > > And yes, I am aware that all words for toilet, including “toilet”, were originally euphemisms\* (or anti-euphemisms like “shithole” or “bog”). That does not alter the fact that the most common American euphemisms for it, notably “bathroom” and “restroom” are ambiguous and potentially misleading in the way that dead euphemisms such as “toilet”, “lavatory”, and “loo” are not. Like dead metaphors, these (the first two anyway) have turned into regular, literal, non-euphemistic terms in British English, whereas the usual American terms retain a strong air of prissiness. > > Incidentally, my American born wife usually said “potty”, which seemed to me not so much prissy as childish. Furthermore, in Britain “potty” means mildly (and harmlessly) insane. > > ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ > > \*I have heard it claimed that the now obsolete term “jakes”, never was a euphemism. I do not know if that is true. If so, I would be in favor of reviving “jakes”, though I suppose people called Jake might not be too happy about it. Okay. I don’t know that there’s any more “prissiness” behind calling the place you take a shit the “bathroom” over calling it the restroom, washroom, water closet, loo, head, john, toilet or anything else. I was merely saying when someone in the US, far and wide, are looking for a place to piss or shit, “bathroom” is the most common parlance. :shrug: Prissy? Seriously? And you _lived_ here? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/69 "2013-03-04T05:59:07Z")
And, yes, “potty” is childish here (but can be used ironically). ---
**Author:** ![LilabetTheOther](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@LilabetTheOther](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilabetTheOther)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/70 "2013-03-04T11:29:48Z")
A potty, in the UK, is first and foremost the training device for children being potty-trained - [https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=potty&hl=en&client=safari&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=boU0UfSmE6aW0QXemIGQCQ&ved=0CAkQ\_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=potty&hl=en&client=safari&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=boU0UfSmE6aW0QXemIGQCQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/71 "2013-03-04T12:01:11Z")
> [@LilabetTheOther](#): > > A potty, in the UK, is first and foremost the training device for children being potty-trained - [https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=potty&hl=en&client=safari&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=boU0UfSmE6aW0QXemIGQCQ&ved=0CAkQ\_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=potty&hl=en&client=safari&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=boU0UfSmE6aW0QXemIGQCQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644) Same in the US, IME. Commode? I know a few older folks who use the word. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/72 "2013-03-04T12:32:53Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Commode? I know a few older folks who use the word. Where I am, “commode” refers to the actual toilet fixture, never the room. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/73 "2013-03-04T12:43:26Z")
Either “casa de banho” or “banheiro.” Some older structures have WC on the doors. ---
**Author:** ![highrollinwooded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@highrollinwooded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/highrollinwooded)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/74 "2013-03-04T13:03:59Z")
At work it’s “I need to use the Whizzer”…we are an odd bunch, though! LOL ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/75 "2013-03-04T13:05:42Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I call it the “loo” as well. It’s short for Waterloo, I believe. Another vote for “loo”, which I’d believed was short for [“gardyloo”](http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/what-is-the-origin-of-the-word-loo). ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/76 "2013-03-04T13:22:16Z")
The Shititorium ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/77 "2013-03-04T14:11:08Z")
At home, it’s “bathroom”. In public, I may ask for directions to the bathroom, or to the restroom. Not sure why I do that, except perhaps that so many signs list them as restrooms (e.g. on mall maps). ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/78 "2013-03-04T15:03:46Z")
The loo or toilet if in a house. The loos or toilets if in a public place like a shopping centre. > [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > “WC” seems to be quite common for signage on the continent of Europe, including the UK. On signage yes, but it’s not the usual way to refer to them. ---
**Author:** ![liquorinthefront](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/22d042/32.png) [@liquorinthefront](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liquorinthefront)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/79 "2013-03-05T07:57:46Z")
the head ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866/80 "2013-03-07T01:07:24Z")
> [@Miss\_Gnomer](#): > > Bathroom = the place with a bath/shower … not necessarily a toilet > > Toilet = definitely has a toilet but may also include bath etc > > More common in Australia to ask where the toilet is … if you asked in my house where the bathroom was - there is no toilet in there so you might be disappointed! Not if there’s a drain, I won’t be! It’s all pipes! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-usual-term-for-a-bathroom/651866.md?page=3)