john (slang, mainly US, Canadian) head(s) (nautical, slang) throne (informal) closet. privy (obsolete)
'Washroom' is another formal word that most English speakers will understand. It is mostly used in the USA. 'Restroom' is a safe term to use in the United States and won't offend anyone. When traveling on motorways, signs may appear announcing “rest stops”.
As I understand it, in British English, the room you use to urinate and defecate is called the toilet. In America, the room is called the “bathroom” or the “restroom” or the “lavatory.” (Or the “men's roo…
commode. crapper (coarse slang) crapper trapper (coarse slang, rare) devil's back roads (slang, rare) dunny (AU&NZ, slang)
Restroom if you're in a public space. Or you can ask for the men's room/ladies' room. If you're in a private home, you'll ask for the bathroom.
The loo, the latrine, the lavatory — the nicknames for the porcelain throne are endless!
Crapper. A rather more vulgar word for toilet is 'crapper'. First appearing in 1932, crapper became a popular alternative word for toilet thanks to the Thomas Crapper & Co Ltd company that manufactured toilets.
Commode. I'm not sure if this is just a Southern word or not, but I haven't heard it much in Ohio. If someone asks you where the commode is, they're just asking where the toilet or bathroom is.
latrine lavatory outhouse restroom. Strong matches. can commode head john potty privy throne W.C. washroom.
Powder room, commode
A less genteel Southern-ism for the bathroom is “commode.” While more widely it's used to refer to a ship's bathroom, in the South, it's just any toilet, land-bound or not.
We called it commode or tur-let in the NOLA area growing up. My southern grandma called the bathroom the lavatory too. NC… as a child I remember it being a commode… but now I say toilet… no idea why!
Lavatory. Lavatory has Latin origins, deriving from the word “lavare”. During the Medieval period, this evolved to “lavatorium” and finally to lavatory which is still used today, though not commonly and only in the most formal settings.
Medieval Lingo
At one point in time these names began to be used for describing a small, smelly restroom area inside of a house. Only the very wealthy had jakes/jacks inside of their homes—most others were located somewhere outside. The name “John” was later derived from “Jake” and “Jack.”
It's hard to imagine now, but many people in the UK still remember growing up with an outside toilet, (often called an outhouse) tin baths and having to collect water when the pipes froze. Outdoor toilets like these outhouses were a normal part of life up until the 1950s, 1960s and even 1970s.
Toilet. This was on the original 1950s list and, to be honest, I'd rather chew glass than use the word toilet in polite conversation. It's a harsh word that was adapted from the French toilette which means your appearance, hence toiletries bag. Lavatory or loo is much more acceptable.
The term “head” used for a marine toilet started because of the location of the toilet on the earliest sailing ships. For crewmen, the facilities were located at the head of the ships. The front of ships had a figurehead: a carved wooden figure or bust fitted on the bow of the ship.
Pass water, go to the toilet, wet yourself, answer the call of nature, relieve yourself.
W/C. Despite its popularity in American English, the term “W/C” actually arose in 1870s England, short for “Wash-down closet”, which evolved to “water closet” and eventually, the term we recognise today as “W/C”.
I was wondering about the origin of using the terms "number one" and "number two" for going to the bathroom (for those unaware, number one is urinating, number two is defecating, at least in the US). I have used it several times myself without actually thinking about it and heard plenty of others use it as well.
"Hush up" is the Southern way of saying "shut up."
"Shut up" is viewed as rather rude in the South.
Let's start properly. The usual alternative to toilet paper is toilet tissue, which makes it sound much softer. And of course lavatory paper, loo paper and dunny paper. As an aside, dunny has been immortalised in a number of slang phrases.
Also called toilet tissue.
In the US the signs say "Men", "Women", and they are called Restrooms. For Canadians and some people from Chicago, it's called "Washroom". W.C. is a holdover from UK English being dominant in the past, so it's kinda funny to see whenever I travel to another country and they are using those terms.