There's nothing wrong with the words ''restroom'' and ''wash

SpaceFlight   Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:12 am GMT
Quote-''Which words piss you off?

Which words and expressions would you get rid of if you could and why?

There are a lot of stupid words and expressions in English. Wouldn't you agree?

Three of the Engllish words that I hate the most are "washroom", "restroom" and "bathroom". Why are there so many people out there who can't manage to call a toilet what it is. A toilet is a toilet is a toilet. Toilet! Toilet! Toilet!

Who was the shit-for-brains who came up with the words "washroom" and "restroom"? Am I going there to rest ... on the toilet seat? No! Am I going there to wash ... in the toilet water? No! These are silly words and we'd be better off without them. A friend of mine once pointed out the fact that there was a seat that you sat on so he was arguing that there was nothing wrong with the word "restroom". However, I wasn't going to the room for a rest, there were plenty of other seats for me to sit on. You get up from your seat, go and use the toilet; you're not using it as a place of rest, you've just got up from your seat; you've got a very different purpose in mind.

If there is no bath in the room then what right has it got to be called a "bathroom"? None! A bathroom is a room with a bath in it, no more no less. If you're going to the room to use the toilet don't tell me you're going to the "bathroom" as if you were going to have a bath. Don't lie. You're going to the toilet.

Let's stop this nonesense. Boycott these stupid expressions.''

I found this on an archived thread started by Jim. Do you all find anything wrong with ''washroom'' and ''restroom''? I don't.
Guest   Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:17 am GMT
They're just names. They could be called French Fries ... being able to identify them is all that matters
SpaceFlight   Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:21 am GMT
I agree.
Uriel   Thu Sep 08, 2005 5:20 am GMT
As long as you're doing your business in the proper receptacle!

Seriously, I only call the porcelain throne the "toilet". The room surrounding that seat of honor might be a pigsty half the time, but it doesn't get the same name....

I guess it sounds needlessly euphemistic to other people, but my understanding is that unlike American household crappers, which usually do contain a bathtub, toilet, and sink, other countries often have the toilet in a separate little area, and the term would actually be a misnomer for them.
Stefaniel P Spaniel   Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:21 pm GMT
It could be pointed out here that using the words "bathroom," "restroom" and so on for "toilet" is purely a North American phenomenon, (or do Australians say it?) and any British person using these terms amongst other Brits would in most cases be laughed at, unless they were using the words in an ironic way, in which case they would probably be ignored. If you go back in time a little though, you'll find that "toilet" and "lavatory" both originally carried meanings connected to washing or bathing, so were themselves euphemisms, until those original meanings died out in popular usage. No-one these days goes to their toliet, intending to say that they are going to wash themselves, but that was the original meaning, if i am not mistaken.
English seems to lack any em for toilet that is not either euphemistic or distinctly vulgar (bog, shitter, snake shop etc.) although the term "loo" would certainly not offend anyone it is far from formal.
Uriel   Thu Sep 08, 2005 6:33 pm GMT
Yeah, well no American in their right mind would ever allow "loo" out of their mouth...and we're all too old to be reprogrammed, so we grew up calling it a bathroom, and that's how it's probably going to stay!

It seems like people were bathing indoors long before they brought the outhouse in to share the same plumbing, so I would imagine that's another reason why we always think of it as the "bathroom" -- the toilet itself was a latecomer on the scene.
Glover   Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:25 pm GMT
'Bathroom' or 'restroom' for the lavatory is completely euphemistic. Why be so coy about going for a pee?

By the way, some of the Upper and Upper Middle classes still refer to washing as 'doing one's toilet'. Mind you, it tends to be of one's Grandparents' generation.

I'm not a fan of the word 'toilet' but agree with Spaceflight that in England 'bathroom' is really quite nausiating.
Henrik   Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:37 pm GMT
I don't like restroom and bathroom, either... It should be toilet.
But here in South Korea, everyone is so crazy about American English, that you read "Restroom" everywhere and "toilet" is dying out...
Chamonix   Thu Sep 15, 2005 5:09 pm GMT
Toilet is just the thing you sit on when you go to the resrooms.
It's become more comfortabil around the world to say just toilet, but to me the correct form is resroom or bathroom.

As I travel a lot, I noticed different countries preffer different forms.
Cro Magnon   Thu Sep 15, 2005 5:23 pm GMT
"Toilet" is what I sit on. "Bathroom" is inaccurate; the room at my job doesn't have a bathtub, but it sounds better than "pooproom" or "peeroom".
Damian   Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:10 pm GMT
I detest stupid euphemisms. A spade is a spade, right? A shovel is a shovel. A person who has snuffed it is dead.....not "passed away" "passed over" "fallen asleep" "living with the angels" or whatever. Dead. The same goes for other wishy washy namby pamby words used instead of the real basic thing.

In the UK a bathroom is normally just that....a bathroom...every home has one....it contains...surprise! surprise!....a bath! Or it may contain a shower unit. Very often....both. A bathroom also contains (usually) a water closet....a WC....that thing you either sit on (after raising the lid...hopefully) to perform acts of nature or...if male....merely to stand over to pee...wee....piss....or if you are posh......urinate......or....here comes another ******* euphemism......pass water. Alongside the WC.....a nice wee bidet for doing a final hygiene function. On the wall towel rails,heated if you're lucky. A mirror.......full length if you like to admire your fantastic physique. A wash basin....over which is...another mirror....a bathroom can be great for narcissists. On the wall again....holders/containers for all your aids to beauty and devastating wow factor.

Basically that's it...a bathroom. That's what everybody here calls it.

If there is a wee room separate and containing a WC and a hand basin/washbasin...and of course another mirror and a small wall unit containing odds and sods like a first aid box and other stuff....that is basically a toilet to most of us here. But most I think most people here call it a loo.

Loo is the most popular word I reckon. "Could you tell me where the loo is please?"

Nobody but nobody except tourists uses the word restroom.

Public loos are invariably signposted as Toilets. Public loos off the streets...or Public Conveniences. I think lavatories is archaic.

Sometimes in theatres, restaurants and other public venues they are called Cloakrooms but not very often. Usually the word Toilets appears in most places.

The UK definitely does not go the South Korean way and call them Restrooms. As far as I know those places where you go for a coffee or a soft drink or whatever after you've donated blood for the benefit of others are called restrooms.

There are, of course, more informal words for toilets, loos or whatever polite terms you use in your part of the world.
Sander   Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:13 pm GMT
=>A bathroom also contains (usually) a water closet<=

WHAT?!

That's disgusting!
Meh   Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:05 pm GMT
Toilet?? Meh! Bathroom suits me fine as I piss in the bath.
Rick   Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:40 pm GMT
I call it a bathroom if it's in a place of residence (a hotel, a house, an apartment etc.) and a restroom if it's elsewhere.

<<Bathroom suits me fine as I piss in the bath.>>

Do you actually urinate in the bathtub? That's disgusting.
Meh   Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:48 pm GMT
Whether from a toilet or a bath, it's all pipes and drains!