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"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."

Sir Winston Churchill


16

Expressions by country

16/11/08 @ 5:29 pm

Since I lived in USA and Canada, some particular expressions always pondered me. Why are public bathrooms or crappers called “washrooms” in Canada and “restrooms” in USA? What’s the difference?

I know there are people who use both terms interchangeably, but this is the general usage of the terms.

Also, what do you call it? And where you from?

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Confused, Random Thoughts



  1. JJDW
    November 16th, 2008 at 18:15 | #1

    lol crappers…

    I say bathroom around family and friends and restroom to people I don’t know very well. I didn’t realize I do this until this question made me think about it. For some reason restroom sounds a lot better to tell someone than bathroom.

    Washroom sounds European and a lot more formal.

    I’m from Iowa in the United States. We also say pop and not soda in the Midewst. :)

  2. November 16th, 2008 at 19:13 | #2

    The loo.

  3. November 16th, 2008 at 19:20 | #3

    Or even better, the laddies and the ladies, which after several pints are a right bugger to tell apart :D

  4. November 16th, 2008 at 19:34 | #4

    Toilet or loo

  5. November 16th, 2008 at 19:38 | #5

    I say either bathroom or washroom..even though calling a public washroom a “bathroom” isn’t correct at all since there is no actual bathtub haha

  6. da wolfe
    November 16th, 2008 at 20:41 | #6

    “Washroom sounds European and a lot more formal.”

    lol, that’s how I feel about restroom. When I was at a New Years thing in Indiana my cornbelt freinds from Chic-ah-go kept getting me to say C-ehanada and Hahhckey. (hockey) Actually people I know from Ontario say Canada like that too.

    The loo rules the roost.

  7. Stephen
    November 16th, 2008 at 21:30 | #7

    In Ireland, we call it “the Jacks”, I believe the equivalent in the US is “the John”.

  8. pinkie
    November 16th, 2008 at 21:59 | #8

    I live deep in the heart of Texas
    and I say restroom for a public place
    and bathroom for one in a home..since it
    has a bathroom
    but my boyfriend calls them all toilets lol
    idk why I say restrom I guess I was taught
    that it was the more appropriate thing to
    say when out in public…

  9. November 16th, 2008 at 22:20 | #9

    Humm…. okies… we don’t use those sorts of terms over here. jus simply bathrooms.

  10. November 17th, 2008 at 00:22 | #10

    I’m from Australia and it’s called so many things over here;

    * The Loo;
    * The Crapper;
    * The Outhouse;
    * The Toilet;
    * The Shithouse;
    * The Shitter

    I’m sure there are others. In Australia a bathroom is not the same as the toilet. A bathroom over here is where our showers and baths are, not toilets.

    Dwayne.
    http://probablysucks.com

  11. Brian
    November 17th, 2008 at 09:53 | #11

    the porcelain throne

  12. Mrs.S
    November 17th, 2008 at 12:43 | #12

    My father calls the restroom the water closet when we have guests and the toilet when it’s just the family. He picked it up when he learned English. Like Dwyane mentioned, though, these terms (at least to my father) do not include the actual shower or tub. Most of the time our family just calls it the hammam.

  13. Kevin
    November 17th, 2008 at 14:36 | #13

    My mom called it the Facilities. I call it Restroom, but I don’t get much rest in there.

  14. NY Arab
    November 17th, 2008 at 15:46 | #14

    “bathroom” when it has a tub in it..and “restroom” for public bathrooms ;) We NEVER, under any circumstances, say “washrooms” :)
    NYC

  15. Kiwi_Canada
    November 17th, 2008 at 23:16 | #15

    I call it “toilet” when I’m outside a home/house, or the bathroom when I am a home… or plain and simple “the loo”.

    I don’t understand why in North America they call it a restroom… where do you REST exactly??

  16. November 18th, 2008 at 22:02 | #16

    Well if it was my dad saying it he would call it the “head” but he’s an old salty dog and they call it that in the Navy. Now if it was me I’d call it the “pisser” kind of catches people off guard and thats probably why I like to say it.

  1. November 16th, 2008 at 20:00 | #1
  2. November 19th, 2008 at 18:56 | #2