Also not true I'm afraid...we say exactly what @Shirley Martin said... '' I need to go to the loo''... . if we're asking for directions to the toilet in public we'll very often ask where the toilet is... but never '' I need to wash my hands''..''or powder my nose'' ... we are fairly direct, we ask where the toilet or the loo is... say we need to go to the toilet or the loo.. ..occasionally we'll say bathroom.
Thanks, Holly, very insightful. Incidentally, what about this "never" or "never ever"? I overheard a conversation where one person said: "We never ever use a phrase like 'The penny has dropped.' No one says that. I haven't heard that in all my life and would never ever use that." Is that true? Is this phrase not used?
Never ever?...yes that's used a lot Thomas.... The ''penny has dropped''?...yes we use that phrase too....
Well, I didn't mean the phrase "never (ever)" but wanted to question the validity of "never (ever)" in general by using the phrase "The penny has dropped" and the opinion expressed in the conversation as an example just because I saw it being used here in SOC, too,[sic!] and thought it would run counter to what the speaker in the conversation I mentioned may have thought. Can it be that the usage of language may be highly subjective? OK, I'm aware that we are getting away from the subject. Sorry for the deviation and sorry to @Shirley Martin and to all of you.
One thing I have never understood is why the toilet is located in a bathroom. The loo is for one thing and the bathroom is used to take a bath or shower and they are totally differentiated by the use of the individual words. However it came to pass, I rather like the word loo. It’s easy, direct, less harsh sounding and to tell the truth, I personally hate the word toilet. Toilet or toilette, is indicative of toil but to me, there is no toil but a measure of relief which negates the whole intention of the word. I even like “library” better than the “T” word. The use of the word Toilet is also right up there with some colognes which have toilette water plainly printed on them which sends a visual of someone splashing waste water on their face. I am, after all, a very very visual person and such things bring about some imaginations which should not at all be shared with others. Like it or not, loo is a much better term and completely separates itself from the bath as it should be.
I think most houses in the UK have the toilet where the Bath is..hence the request for a Brit when in the USA to use the Bathroom, not for the first time to find themselves, embarrassingly in a room without a toilet.....I think the reason initially here in the UK for toilet and bathrooms in the same area was just because our houses are small , generally speaking....and the vast majority don't have more than one bathroom... I don't have a combined bathroom and toilet in my house ... they are separate!!
In some of the homes I helped build with my dad, the loo, bath and powder room is all separated into different rooms. Even the older restaurants had barriers between the wash area and the loo for the men’s area, and the women had the same barrier but another doorway which led to the powder room (before exiting). Nope. I can’t disagree with Hal more. I really really like the word loo and to use the term bathroom when clearly I am not going to take a bath seems a little uncivilized and a bit of a lie for I certainly do NOT use the bath for nature’s callings.
yes I know what you mean Bobby...the toilet cubicles and ''powder'' rooms are all separate in public conveniences, but in homes, no... much as I'd love a separate bathroom, toilet, and Vanity (powder room).. in the house... usually they come with much larger houses than most people have here... I agree with you...Loo is a good word !!
oooh dear...lol... haven't heard that word since we used it in school as teens... not heard anyone use that for decades
My master bedroom bathroom has the toilet separate. It was also the case in my houses in Hungary. It's also the case here in all the bathrooms at my daughter's except for two...The one in my bedroom here and also the one downstairs ....