LL-L "Idiomatica" 2008.06.18 (01) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 18 June 2008 - Volume 01
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From: Fred van Brederode <f.vanbrederode at home.nl>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2008.06.15 (04) [D/E]

Ron you wrote:
In American English, "to go to the bathroom" is used so commonly that it no
longer needs to refer to a trip or visit but can refer to the actual act of
excretion; such as in "I'm sick and tired of the neighbor's dog going to the
bathroom on our front lawn" or "Little Billie went to the bathroom in the
swimming pool."

 This brings back a story from my early twenties when I worked as a
counsellor in a US summer camp in Pennsylvania. We were in a division (it
was a large camp) for ages 6-12. During the evenings we took turns for OD
(on duty). It so happened that my turn came pretty soon. The section of camp
that I "OD-ed" consisted of several small wooden bunks, each one housing
about 12 boys. The OD had a seat at a table in front of one. The table was
conveniently situated under a lamppost so we could read.

All of a sudden there was a shouting coming from one of the bunks: "ODEE,
ODEE". I immediately got up, aware of my duty I entered the bunk. "What is
the matter?" I said. One of the boys answered out of the dark: "I need to go
to the bathroom". I had no idea what this actually meant, I felt rather
disturbed in my reading activities. So I said out of sincere astonishment:
"why is that, all you guys just had a shower?" Camp rule made it clear to
shower before going to bed. The other boys came to his assist: "please OD he
really needs to". The bathroom was outside the bunk, which was quite a
nuisance. Nevertheless I quickly figured out that it was best to let the boy
go, whatever he needed to go to the bathroom for.

It was until I told my American fellow counsellors about the incident that I
found out what "going to the bathroom" means for an American.

The camp I was in had many overseas counsellors, most of them from Britain.
For reasons of convenience I was soon enlisted by the British. I gratefully
joined them in laughing about the silly American accent and expressions. The
bathroom was one of them. I remember that we were astonished once again by
the word "restroom". Someone had read in a leaflet that long distance busses
in the US had small restrooms. What a great service, the bus company
provides us with a room where you can lay down on a long journey. Again the
misunderstanding did not last long. The astonishment stayed: Americans say
anything to avoid the word toilet.

Probably very old as well, but I noticed it only recently: "half bathroom"
in a real estate add. Yes anything but the t-word.
Groetjes,  Fred van Brederode

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
 Subject: Idiomatica

Thanks a lot, Fred.

There are lots and lots of such stories, especially about Americans being
directed to bathrooms without toilets or to rooms with daybeds or couches.

Actually, many US Americans do use the word "toilet," but with a different
meaning: the actual toilet "throne" inside the ... bathroom or "half
bathroom." The room itself is not called "toilet" by most Americans.
However, some people avoid "toilet" in this sense as well ans say "commode"
instead (e.g. There's a sink and a commode in the half bathroom").

The polite US American word for the room in which a toilet is found tends to
be "bathroom" if it is in a private home and "restroom" if it is a public
facility. In Canada I see and hear mostly "washroom" used. In old-fashioned,
posh American restrooms, such as in theaters, you still find anterooms with
couches and easy chairs for resting, at least in women's restrooms. So there
is a connection. Many of these even have things like shoe-polishing
machines, and some men's versions still have full-length mirrors next to
their exits, some of which have attached to them signs saying things like
"Gentlemen, for your convenience" or "Gentlemen, your attire" to give you a
last chance to "batten down the hatch," if you catch my meaning! So we are
talking about vestiges of Belle Époque comfort here, not something to
summarize coarsely.

So, when US Americans and Canadians travel to other countries, signs saying
"toilets" or some recognizable cognates of it seem a bit crass or simply
strange because they associate with it not rooms but what is installed
there. But of course Canadians are far more exposed to non-American English
and thus don't miss a beat when they hear "toilets." They are also more
likely to switch to using the word "toilet" themselves once they arrive in
Britain for instance.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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