Apropos of nothing: What's your favorite British saying?

[ryan.riverside]

Yes, but toilet doesn't sound at all nice when said with an American accent. It's much too harsh a word, despite all the vowels. And saying loo with an American accent isn't any better.

I don't get it, what do you guys call the toilets then? O_O Urination/Faeces Facillities? Or the lavetory?

"Oooh I'm just going to pop off to the LAVETORYYYYY"

Restroom/Bathroom, usually, though I'd admit neither really make that much sense outside of a bath-equipped room (well, nothing but toilet makes sense, actually). Restroom, I suppose makes sense, if you like to rest on the toilets and read the newspapers for hours or something. ._.

I know there are a few more, but I don't hear them enough to be able type them off the top of my head.

I say Water Closet (No one understands what I am saying), Loo (If people do understand, they make fun of me), Urinals(Man-Toilets, of which I haven't used in 12 years), and sometimes, when I am feeling fiesty, I call it the defocatory device (people just get quiet and edge away from me). Go me.

And yeah. "It's noon. Let's go take a nap while we rid ourselves of bodily waste. Yeah, Jan? We'll be back in, say, four or five hours. Ok? See you at dinner!"

[thelilbear]

What's that got to do with the price of cheese - That's got no relevance to anything.

I always say it as fish...not cheese......

Thats the only saying I know.
AND I'm bittish. XD

My grandfather always used to say "What'd you know about the price of beans?", meaning whatever you said made no sense or had no relevance. He was born in America, and his parents were Slovak, so I guess that phrase or variations are more widespread. I use it myself

[shapu]

Yes, but toilet doesn't sound at all nice when said with an American accent. It's much too harsh a word, despite all the vowels. And saying loo with an American accent isn't any better.

I don't get it, what do you guys call the toilets then? O_O Urination/Faeces Facillities? Or the lavetory?

"Oooh I'm just going to pop off to the LAVETORYYYYY"

Restroom/Bathroom, usually, though I'd admit neither really make that much sense outside of a bath-equipped room (well, nothing but toilet makes sense, actually). Restroom, I suppose makes sense, if you like to rest on the toilets and read the newspapers for hours or something. ._.

I know there are a few more, but I don't hear them enough to be able type them off the top of my head.

I'm a big fan of bathrooms, just on principle, and also because I find them to be wonderful examples of how far humanity has come...

Just think, it used to be that you had to scrawl "For gud time call Unk at Bonk bonk smash bonk" into the walls of caves with rocks, bones, or fingernails.

Now we can write the same thing in seventy-four colors of Sharpie pens.

Anyway, I call them johns, heads, cans, toilets, bathrooms, restrooms, or the ever-popular, overly-polite, anti-descriptive "facilities." Depends on my mood, and what color sharpie I have with me at the time.

[Kugetsu]

Haha, yes, I often spend too much time in public restrooms because I'm too busy reading the stalls and walls. It's like a novel made especially for the toilet. Amazing.

[SpiraLethe]

I would say ya'll is a southern word btw, just like wooder is from Philadelphia.

I thought that was more of a Jersey thing. Both places have odd accents, though.

[Combusken BG]

Yes, but toilet doesn't sound at all nice when said with an American accent. It's much too harsh a word, despite all the vowels. And saying loo with an American accent isn't any better.

I don't get it, what do you guys call the toilets then? O_O Urination/Faeces Facillities? Or the lavetory?

"Oooh I'm just going to pop off to the LAVETORYYYYY"

Restroom/Bathroom, usually, though I'd admit neither really make that much sense outside of a bath-equipped room (well, nothing but toilet makes sense, actually). Restroom, I suppose makes sense, if you like to rest on the toilets and read the newspapers for hours or something. ._.

I know there are a few more, but I don't hear them enough to be able type them off the top of my head.

I'm a big fan of bathrooms, just on principle, and also because I find them to be wonderful examples of how far humanity has come...

Just think, it used to be that you had to scrawl "For gud time call Unk at Bonk bonk smash bonk" into the walls of caves with rocks, bones, or fingernails.

Now we can write the same thing in seventy-four colors of Sharpie pens.

Anyway, I call them johns, heads, cans, toilets, bathrooms, restrooms, or the ever-popular, overly-polite, anti-descriptive "facilities." Depends on my mood, and what color sharpie I have with me at the time.

There is something I have never been able to understand as why Americans call them a john when there are Americans called John?

[SpiraLethe]

There is something I have never been able to understand as why Americans call them a john when there are Americans called John?

"John" is slang for a lot of things in the States. I won't go into them since some aren't exactly appropriate. I'm assuming it's because it's a popular name, therefore it gets used for a lot for random things.

Last edited by SpiraLethe on Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

[shapu]

Why a "john?" From what I understand, it is named after Sir John Harrington, who invented a working flushing toilet in the late 1500s that was never fully implemented because people didn't care so much about sanitation until the 1800s. Stupid Pasteur not being born yet.

"Head" came about because the cessbox or opening was at the head of a boat - wind on a sailing vessel usually came from the back, after all, and would blow all those odors away from the boat. Most people consider this a good thing.

"Can" because...well, because you can go in one.

"Loo" is, as far as I know, a malapropism on the French habit of putting restrooms as number 100. If you look at old-school typewriters, they don't have a number 1 because the lowercase "L" and th 1 were the same key. So, 100 = loo.

Last edited by shapu on Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Nessa]

-shooting star runs across the forums-

The more you know.

[_jaye_]

"Loo" is apparently a malapropism on the French habit of putting restrooms as number 100. If you look at old-school typewriters, they don't have a number 1 because the lowercase "L" and th 1 were the same key. So, 100 = loo.

This random thought of people saying, "I'm just going to go to the one-hundred" just crossed my mind...
Or, if one scored 100 on a test, one could say, "heyy, I got loo "

Hm...I don't know much about british sayings, despite my form tutor being british, but I find "Oorigh Poppit" amusing

[Twilight]

BTW is it pip-pip or tip-tip. Lol cuzz I have no idea.

[Anoohilator]

Pip-pip I think but not 100% sure.

[May]

Why a "john?" From what I understand, it is named after Sir John Harrington, who invented a working flushing toilet in the late 1500s that was never fully implemented because people didn't care so much about sanitation until the 1800s. Stupid Pasteur not being born yet.

"Head" came about because the cessbox or opening was at the head of a boat - wind on a sailing vessel usually came from the back, after all, and would blow all those odors away from the boat. Most people consider this a good thing.

"Can" because...well, because you can go in one.

"Loo" is, as far as I know, a malapropism on the French habit of putting restrooms as number 100. If you look at old-school typewriters, they don't have a number 1 because the lowercase "L" and th 1 were the same key. So, 100 = loo.

Wow, Shapu just has a never-ending wealth of knowledge. I think you should have a daily random fact for PPT!

[Dragonfire]

Yeah, y'all is a southern thing, but moreso a Texan thing. You know someone's a tourist when they say "you all".

Oh, and btw, try going to Paris and speaking French with a Texan accent. Even if you're fluent they know you're a tourist.

And I always find "bloody hell", or anything starting with bloody a little odd.

I say bathroom or restroom. Occaisonally I'll say the men's room.

Oh, and my name's John. xD

[shapu]

Wow, Shapu just has a never-ending wealth of knowledge. I think you should have a daily random fact for PPT!

I'm sure half of the trivia I "know" is actually incorrect. To clarify, though, I'm pretty confident in my toilet knowledge.

Which brings me back to another great British saying:
"Told a pack of porkies," which has nothing to do with people or hogs.