Regular readers of this blog will know that the British tendency to use the word “toilet” for the entire room makes me cringe.
Well, holy crap! Today I actually typed: ”He ducked into the staff toilet. “
What’s happening to me? Why, only last week I said to The Boy, “Give it some welly.”
Can “Cor blimey!” be far off?
But let’s be clear, people. It’s true, I unconsciously typed the word “toilet” for the room today, but I cleaned up my mess. I hit the delete button very quickly. That was a shitty first draft error that will never, ever, ever happen again.
EVER.
I absolutely despise everything about the word “toilet.” I also despise my shitty first drafts. Coincidence?
Coincidence? You decide.
Do do do do…
I don’t want to go to the toilet. In fact, that sounds like a bad dream. One of the worst examples of synecdoche ever.
Had to google synecdoche – who knew there was a name for that? More importantly, how the heck do you pronounce it?
sin-eck-doh-kee not to be confused with Schenectady, New York, which is pronounced skehn-eck-tah-dee.
We can always rely on you Indy.
To be an ass or to answer your questions or both?
To answer our questions, of course. You aren’t always an ass, right? (bah dum bum)
Don’t poo(h)-poo(h) the term too hastily. My grandmother used to “go at the bathroom,” possibly because going “to” a bathroom was a bit vulgar—but it always sounded to me as if there was a risk she might miss.
I have to say Sarah, that go “at” the bathroom sounds way more vulgar to me!
I know, right?
And calling it a bathroom is a bit odd. We all know
. . . we aren’t taking baths in there!
So what the heck should we be calling it?
I personally call it the Little Librarian’s Room . . .
Love it! But I honestly like the loo. So let’s combine them and call it the Little Loo Loo.
Love it! My brother used to call it the library. But yes, Sherry, loo has worked for me since I moved over. Halla -loo-yeah.
Ewwwww. XD
Not to be confused with Little LuLu. What about lavatory? Certainly not common…except on airplanes. What’s with that? In our house it is bathroom, washroom, or restroom..none of which really describe the purpose for most visits. Some of our bathrooms don’t even have a bath. But then I don’t kit in the kitchen or recreate in the recreation room or live in the living room. The English language is full of oddities. Still I draw the line at “in the toilet”.
Sadly, Little Lulu was most definitely the inspiration for my very bad pun.
Unconscious, my arse. I slay me…
I guarantee if I’d been writing, instead of typing it would never have happened.
And it was a “shitty” first draft error. Hee-hee. God, how I love potty humor. Yes, I am five-years-old.
“Cor blimey” is on the tip of your fingers. Brace yourself, D.
Noooo!
Blame the first draft. They mess with your mind, defeat the senses. Think of it this way. You’re fortunate you can even form a sentence after working on a first draft.
That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
First of all, LOVE THE NEW HEADER. really, it’s beautiful.
I started asking my kids whether they needed to use the “restroom” from the moment they were out of diapers. It was sort of ridiculous. A mother, asking her 2 1/2year old whether she needed to use the “restroom” or not. I should have used the French pronunciation of toilet. Maybe that would have gotten a few chuckles from the world.
Thanks, MSB. It was time for a change. But I’m still figuring this new WordPress theme out.
Pretty much everything sounds better with a French pronunciation, non?
I think you are halfway to becoming a Brit, Downith. I’m always amused to read your posts about language differences. My grandmother used to call it ‘the John’ – as in, do you have to go to the John. Too bad if your name happened to be John
Half way, huh? So only another 12.5 years to go.
One must be so careful when speaking these strange dialects! I’m wondering what my brain would offer up if I had to write a quick bathroom exit?
That stinks, but at least you dropped that line ASAP so as not to get down in the dumps about the matter. That must be a load off!
Hi downith!
First thought: let’s just anthropomorphise (or “ize” if you’re in North America)! We can go to the Loo, or the John… But here’s the thing: if you are somewhere other than the US or Canada, you very well may have two rooms for plumbing: one place for taking your bath, and one place for “having meetings” as one person I know euphemistically calls it. So “going to the bathroom” probably means washing your hands.
Second thought: Why euphemise at all? Call the room the toilet (room) and the Bath (room). Explain what your characters are doing:
“Sally stood up and looked around the room. ‘i have to urinate’ she proclaimed. ‘I am going to the toilet!’ She rushed out of the lounge, slamming the door behind her. She returned a moment later, visibly relieved.”
First thought – “having meetings” is hilarious.
Second thought – don’t get me started on “lounge.”