The throne in the John

Benjamin Barrett gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM
Mon Jun 3 00:23:22 UTC 2013


With citations back to 1922, the OED says, about the word throne: fig. A lavatory bowl and pedestal or other supporting structure. colloq.

I think this is trying to hard. How about "toilet"? The toilet in an outhouse qualifies as a throne. See, for example, http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/05/23/11836543-grabbed-from-the-throne-man-on-camping-trip-survives-outhouse-bear-attack?lite:

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A 65-year-old Canadian man had a trip to the outhouse that he’ll never forget.... "I'm sitting on the throne, and my feet are sort of up on the 'poopstool,' we call it," he told CBC.
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Wiktionary (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/throne) says: The lavatory or toilet.

This definition leaves one to wonder whether the restroom itself can be referred to as a throne, which I doubt. My suggestion of "toilet" may cause a similar problem with English speakers in many countries.

On 27 May, the New York Times (Bret Schulte) also demonstrated that the word "throne" is not so figurative (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/us/buyer-sought-for-stalled-medieval-castle-in-arkansas.html?_r=0)

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Rodents are using the toolbox in the stone-carving station as a throne, so to speak.
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Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

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