The loo &c.

[Mark Mandel]

Et tu, Alison? The etymological fallacy coils and strikes unseen!

"As with so many euphemisms, it has for all practical purposes lost
the inoffensive original meaning, to the extent that no one now thinks
of it as a euphemism at all. Â It is permanently tainted with
excrement." Therefore it is *not* a euphemism in today's English, any
more than "boycott" is a proper name requiring a capital "B".

m a m

On Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Alison Murie <sagehen7470 at att.net> wrote:
>
> I hafta laugh when, in this discussion of all the dodges by which
> people refer to the sort of plumbing facilities which enable the
> disposal of human waste, of all the terms: bathroom, washroom,
> restroom, WC, ladies', gents', john, &c., "toilet" is singled out as
> the most direct, when, in fact it is one of the outstanding examples
> of euphemism. Â "Water closet" is what we really mean when we say
> "toilet." Â As with so many euphemisms, it has for all practical
> purposes lost the inoffensive original meaning, to the extent that no
> one now thinks of it as a euphemism at all. Â It is permanently tainted
> with excrement.
> AM

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