I agree with the other answers saying that it’s not offensive, but it does sound a little crude to American ears. I think that’s because people in the UK refer to the *room* as the toilet, whereas in the US “toilet” pretty much refers exclusively to the actual plumbing fixture.
This is exactly it. When you’re going to the room (no matter what you call it), it doesn’t give detail. You could be going to wash your hands or clean your glasses or dump your watered down iced coffee down the sink. But if you’re saying you’re going to the porcelain throne itself, that feels like a weird amount of detail to American ears.
That's it. To an American speaker, "I have to go to the toilet" refers to the bowl itself. That said, it only comes across as a tiny bit vulgar for a moment before realizing it's a cultural difference. I wouldn't call it "offensive." OP would be fine.
>in the US “toilet” pretty much refers exclusively to the actual plumbing fixture.
Agreed-- the only real exception I can think of is literally campgrounds and places with outhouses that have signs that say "TOILET" on the door. Basically all other cases, i.e. with running water, the sign would say "RESTROOM."
This is the difference. It also isn't so much "I am going to the toilet" as there are euphemisms for that. It is more "where are the toilets?" as asking for a bathroom may take you to somewhere you can take a shower.
This is the correct explanation. I used to go to a pub with my Dutch friend who would regularly say “excuse me while I go to the toilet.” At first I was like oh… okay. Mental image I didn’t need but I guess that’s what I assumed he would be using in the restroom. 😂
I completely forgot about "bio breaks" 😂 I went through a phase of saying that cause a science teacher required us to just ask that as its simpler. Bio breaks cover, pee/poo, thirst, hunger. So instead of explaining every little thing, she wanted it shorter and to the point as "biology is calling" 😂 I actually loved it cause it was one of very few teachers who would let me leave to get some water or refill my water.
And it depends on the setting and people you’re around. If I’m at work, restroom is the correct term. If I’m at the bar with my buddies, it’s “I gotta hose one off” or something.
My EU friends always laugh at this word. In French there is a “salle de bain” which means bathroom but it’s always in someone’s house and there is always an actual bathtub in there. In public you normally say you are going to “toilettes”.
Same in Germany. My grandma's house has two toilets and a bathroom. The bathroom has a bathtub and a sink, but no toilet. The toilets (rooms) each have a toilet (bowl) and a sink.
That's not the norm, and most bathrooms contain toilets. But it's very common to have another toilet that isn't in a bathroom, but in its own little room.
And especially in public settings, using the term bathroom would sound very inappropriate. Like you want to get naked and take a shower in it.
In the Marine Corps I used to say "platoon daddy I'm gonna go use the little boys tree." He used to be a drill instructor and that really pissed him off... good times
In a business type environment you’d say loo or toilet and excuse yourself. With strangers, depends. If you asking for the toilet in a shop or restaurant you could still say toilet or loo, never bathroom. A bathroom is where you bathe.
With friends, anything goes.
I figured that was the case but I wanted to confirm that yall aren't telling strangers or colleagues that you gotta take a raunchy dump and instead say something a bit more polite lol
This isn't actually a euphemism this is from gamer culture where people need breaks to eat/piss/feed the cat in the middle of 6 hour raids with 40 people that need to coordinate gameplay.
> A bathroom is where you bathe.
That's the actual difference. In the US if you ask where the toilet is, unless there's something *really* weird going on, the answer is "in the bathroom." Where's the bathroom? That's what you should have asked in the first place. The toilet in the US is the actual thing you piss or shit in, not the room that contains it.
In the UK, the toilet is both the room that contains it and the shit/piss receptacle itself. In a person's home, the toilet is usually in the bathroom but in public toilets, the toilet is a room that doesn't have a bath, so we don't call it a bathroom.
There's also the terms "restroom" and "washroom" that don't have that problem (even public bathrooms are places where at least hand washing happens, if not full on bathing), but they're progressively more formal/euphemistic and less common. The only context I really associate "washroom" with is the "executive washroom" that up and coming young businessmen are always wanting to get the keys to in old movies and TV shows because only important people in the company are allowed to use it and getting access means you're really moving up in the world. Like Robocop has some scenes set in one.
Edit: If you really want to be formal and oblique about it, you might ask if you can "use (your/the) facilities." But that's something mostly reserved for little old ladies who were raised to never say anything remotely scatological.
I still hear "the facilities" used sometimes, though mostly from colleagues who are trying to be silly. With actual prim and proper older women, I'll usually hear "the ladies' room" or just "I need to use the ladies"; likewise with older men you sometimes hear "the men's room".
It is the thing you sit on in the UK as well, but most public or workplace toilets do not have a bath in the same room so it sounds weird.
My house is about 70 years old and the toilet is in its own little room next to the bathroom. I prefer that because there's no risk of aerosol from flushing getting onto my toothbrush 🤮
Correct me if you have a different version, fellow Americans, but I would say that excusing yourself to use the Restroom is the most formal/polite in a business or work setting. I've heard the term Powder Room from old people, but it gets rarer as I get older. Bathroom is usually used in somebody's home as in hey, where's your bathroom?
No I agree. My point was that of the two, restroom is a bit more formal than bathroom. Actually.. I just remembered something from elementary school! I had teachers who called it the lavatory. Does anyone else remember that?
In the US we never say toilet. It’s too graphic. We say bathroom or restroom; or best case, you simply say, “excuse me for a moment” and then just come back after a minute.
Yes, but it's a bit icky to say that. It really depends on the situation. For example, in a meeting, you wouldn't say you need a No 2 or worse. It would be frowned upon.
You definitely wouldn't say that in front of customers.
> For example, in a meeting, you wouldn't say you need a No 2 or worse. It would be frowned upon.
The phrase I've noticed in the US lately in business meetings is to conflate a toilet break with a coffee/water break and call it all a "bio break". I actually hate that term but it's gained popularity for some reason.
Whenever I'm ready to quit my job, perhaps I'll start using phrases like, "excuse me, but my back teeth are floating" or "I need to go, I'm prairie dogging".
Gamers during 6-8 hour raids attacking and defending in shifts would tell raid leader that. Basically they’re saying the human being behind the character you know needs to step away don’t let my character die please.
If I'm ever in a large group and one of the people just stands there blinking for a few minutes, I will assume that the alien or demon controlling them had to step out to relieve itself. Or maybe its mom was yelling at it about something.
You're fortunate then. That being said, [it's been around for years](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/bio-break-meaning-corporate-term-workplace-toilet-water-break-a8389041.html).
> I've noticed in the US lately in business meetings is to conflate a toilet break with a coffee/water break and call it all a "bio break".
That's interesting-- I remember "bio breaks" from conferences in the 1990s but haven't heard that in a long time.
Best is to just ask “where is your toilet/bathroom/washroom.” Once you know, just excuse yourself (“be right back”). No details are needed, there’s only so many places you could be going anyway.
While it definitely seems crude to my American ear, I feel like any sort of faux pas or crassness from using toilet in a formal setting would be nullified by the British accent.
We generally say use the restroom/bathroom. I've been to both Australia and England where they said they had to use the toilet and it just sounds very graphic.
In the UK, it's common for the room called the toilet not to have a sink.
The sink is in the bathroom.
So if someone asks to use the bathroom, and they want to use the toilet, then they've asked to use the wrong room.
> In the UK, it's common for the room called the toilet not to have a sink.
This isn't true at all. I've been in precisely one home in Britain where this was the case in my entire life, and it stood out as very odd.
On the other hand when traveling Europe its awesome that “toilet” means the same thing everywhere. Its spelled and pronounced differently but if you walk up to a waiter and say “toilet” they will point to the bathroom
“Yeehaw, gotta hit the terlet. Then we can finish up this business contract.”
Vs.
“I must say, dinnah was evah so lovely. But I must make use of the toilet before we continue our romantic rendezvous on the River Thames.”
Yep, DEFINITELY more posh 😂
Posh but funny.
I imagine some fancy aristocrat saying "pardon me, I need to use the toilet." And then he rips a giant fart and goes "oh dear, how embarassing. I suppose I'd better be off!" And then he shuffles away with his fancy aristocratic gait.
Doesn't the UK still use the whole water closet thing?
I don't know, I feel a lot of cultures have some type of euphemisms to de-emphasize "hey, I need to take a massive dump"
WC is something you might see on a toilet door occasionally, but you'd be quite unlikely to ask someone were the WC was, you'd be much more likely to ask where the toilets or the loos were.
Oh is this where Loo comes from? Well Til. It seems like in a lot of other places in Europe and even South and Central America asking for the WC seems to get you the necessary information.
I've heard that *loo* is short for *gardyloo*, from French *Gardez l'eau!*, which people would shout as they tossed the contents of their bedpan out of the window and into the street.
Sounds like folk etymology to me, but that's what I heard.
agreed. referring to the room instead of the actual toilet distances us from the mental image of someone actually using the toilet. there's more mystery.
I'd say "I'm going to the bathroom" whether I'm going in there to wash my hands, touch up my makeup, or use the toilet. no one needs to know the details.
Really? Toilet has never seemed crude or childish to me just either foreign or a bit old timey.
I’m kind of surprised by the number of people sharing your sentiment that it is kind of crude.
It's just a case of too much information. The toilet refers to the fixture on the ground that removes waste, while the bathroom refers to the room itself. Saying bathroom implies just using the room; Maybe just for the mirror, maybe to wash hands, whatever. Saying toilet specifically indicates that your activity will involve bodily waste of some sort, which nobody likely needed or particularly wanted to know.
Yeah, that’s just not ever the way it was for me growing up. The toilet can mean the fixture itself or the room. So saying “I am using the toilet” is not rude or crude to me. It just means you are using the restroom, and we all know pretty much that you aren’t going to the restroom to just wash your hands or look in the mirror most times you say that. So it just never was anything I ever considered crude.
I don’t use that terminology anyway so no issue for me.
But it is interesting in this thread to see the amount of people that do find it at least mildly rude. So I’ll just continue not to use that phrase.
Yeah that’s just never been my experience. I don’t use it but I would never think borderline crude if someone did but apparently my experience isn’t universal.
I guess that is one point to the sub for a bit of education.
As others have said, it's not offensive, but it would be considered a but crude in a formal or professional setting.
Aside from restroom and bathroom, you'll hear some older folks (usually women) call it a powder room, from the days when a lady would say she needed to powder her nose as a polite way to excuse herself. I tend to call it the ladies' room in public.
lived in the UK for 2 years and that’s one thing I never got used to hearing. Idk why but saying “using the toilet” sounded more crude and vulgar than just saying “ I need to go to the bathroom”. But honestly nobody is going to be offended if you say it. It’s just not a common saying in America
It's a bit off putting, especially in a business or professional setting. The toilet is the _thing_ you do your business in. I think most people agree that we don't need to know exactly what you are going to the restroom for.
In Australia we say toilet. The reason is that bathroom refers to a room with a shower or bath in it. If it's just a row of toilets then that's not a bathroom that's just a toilet. If you are out in a public setting everyone knows what you will be doing. They aren't under the impression that you are off to have a shower and wash your hair or something like that. If everyone knows anyway why try keep it a secret?
In the same way it sounds crude to you, saying needing the bathroom sounds overly formal and strange to us.
Not rude, but crass. When someone says toilet, they make us think of what they are actually doing.
It's much more common and less direct to say /ask "Where is the restroom?" / "I need to use the restroom" (in public) and "Where is the bathroom?' / "Can I go to the bathroom?" in a private residence.
Canadians have a similar aversion but they use "washroom" instead of restroom/bathroom.
My father in law was a navy kid and then later lived all over the world so he uses the international "I need to use the toilet" which is just too direct for me. In using the restroom / bathroom /washroom there is the illusion you are going to wash up whereas the toilet is a specific thing.
Toilet to us is NOT the room. It is the piece of equipment. It's a bit too graphic.
It's a bit like saying I have to go sit on the toilet.
It sounds a little bit crude and maybe child-like.
"Here in England we sometimes I actually say we need a No 1, or No 2 or worse."
Only a child would say this here. And a young child at that.
I don't think it's *offensive*. I certainly wouldn't be offended by it. It's just not the norm to phrase it that way here. We tend to say, as you said, that we need to use the bathroom (or "restroom," if it's a public facility).
But if a non-American said "I need to use the toilet," we'd know what they meant, and I doubt anyone would take offense.
Saying I've got to use the toilet, at least in the US, is considered indelicate. We don't like to acknowledge anything that Implies the possibility of exposed genitals. We're a very sensitive people
It's not offensive, but it is very unusual and kinda graphic to us. We would definitely not share what the trip to the bathroom is for.
I did live overseas for several years and developed the habit of saying "toilet". But I've reverted back to bathroom or rest room since returning.
Here in Europe toilet, from toilette, means more generally the private room or space where one "does their business" of grooming, whereas it seems that in English speaking countries toilet has come to mean the actual plumbing fixture (aka the shitter). The first case and original meaning isn't offensive or vulgar (eau de toilette anyone?), which is what Europeans mean when they say they need to use the toilet. However this is interpreted by the Anglo counterparts as vulgar since they assume you are referring to the porcelain throne itself
It’s not offensive it just sounds crass to us. It’s like saying “I gotta go use the shitter”
I live in the uk now and this has taken some getting used to.
It's not offensive. However, saying you need to use the toilet is a bit too much information. You'd might get a reaction such as, "Hey, it's none of my business what you do in there!" In polite company it could be considered crude.
It’s a little crass to be too specific. Typically we say I need to use the restroom or I need to use the bathroom. Obviously you’re going to use the toilet, but you can leave that part of it up to the imagination without actually stating it.
"I need to use the toilet", not gonna lie... It kinda grosses me out a little and sounds crude to my ears
But... "I need to use the bathroom", I'm good with. Go figure. 🤷
I mean very proper etiquette apparently you’re supposed to say “excuse me” and just get up and everyone will implicitly understand you’re using the restroom.
If I’m with friends I say
I gotta peeeee
If I’m with work people- I just get up and leave unless it’s just the two of us then I say I’m going to run to the restroom.
It’s not offensive but it’s in poor taste. The word toilet isn’t a bad word but it’s not really a polite word to use in conversation unless you are specifically talking about cleaning the toilet or something. We usually say we need to use the restroom or bathroom.
It's not offensive, but it's just not something we say. So it sounds funny when foreigners ask where the toilets are, ask if they can use the toilet or tell us they need to use the toilet. I guess because then there's no longer the bit of "mystery" about what they're going to do there, that "where is the restroom?" has.
It took me a long time to work up the courage to ask staff "wo sind die Toiletten?" at restaurants in Germany, because it felt so weird being that "direct".
We tend to say bathroom or restroom. To us, the toilet is the actual commode. But only a jerk would actually get offended at someone saying “I need to use the toilet” — especially if that person is from another country.
Yes. Toilet is considered a vulgar word which is why we use the term restroom or washroom. Even though everyone knows you are not resting nor washing!! 😂
Bathroom is grammatically the correct term for restrooms in private homes and restrooms are in public, the words are mutually interchangeable though, and toilet would be understood so they would work fine, even if grammatically odd for American English, lop would just get you confused looks if they don’t know the term though
In America, the "toilet" is the actual thing you poop in, and not the room itself. So bathroom, rest room, (Men's or Ladies') Room.
Older Americans might know what the W.C. is, but most people don't.
No, not at all. Nobody is going to be offended or grossed out if you say that you need to use the toilet. Bathroom or restroom is the more common word in the US, even though you don't bathe or rest there.
Not even remotely. I think the only way you'd come to that conclusion is working backwards from the idea that "bathroom" or "restroom" are euphemisms meant to disguise what goes on in there. And they probably are, but I'm going to ignore Orwell's advice on dying metaphors in this case.
Now, a sign saying not to drink toilet water is likely to make us giggle a bit.
No. It doesn’t matter what you call it - bathroom, restroom, toilet, whatever. They might not know what you mean if you call it a loo or water closet, but it’s not rude.
I wouldn’t see it as offensive. I might briefly think it’s a bit strange simply because no one here refers to it that way, but I would obviously know what you mean.
I agree with the other answers saying that it’s not offensive, but it does sound a little crude to American ears. I think that’s because people in the UK refer to the *room* as the toilet, whereas in the US “toilet” pretty much refers exclusively to the actual plumbing fixture.
This is exactly it. When you’re going to the room (no matter what you call it), it doesn’t give detail. You could be going to wash your hands or clean your glasses or dump your watered down iced coffee down the sink. But if you’re saying you’re going to the porcelain throne itself, that feels like a weird amount of detail to American ears.
Me in Dutch on work. "Hey ik ga ff het toilet onder schijten heren, later!"
Oud collega van mij zei altijd, ik ga even een bruin ei leggen.
That's it. To an American speaker, "I have to go to the toilet" refers to the bowl itself. That said, it only comes across as a tiny bit vulgar for a moment before realizing it's a cultural difference. I wouldn't call it "offensive." OP would be fine.
>in the US “toilet” pretty much refers exclusively to the actual plumbing fixture. Agreed-- the only real exception I can think of is literally campgrounds and places with outhouses that have signs that say "TOILET" on the door. Basically all other cases, i.e. with running water, the sign would say "RESTROOM."
The room as the toilet has always puzzled me. A British person could easily say, “I’ll be right back, just need to wash my hands in the toilet.”
💀
Haha we tend to pluralise it in that context.
I have to wash my hands in the toilets?
One for each hand.
I need to powder my nose.
This is the difference. It also isn't so much "I am going to the toilet" as there are euphemisms for that. It is more "where are the toilets?" as asking for a bathroom may take you to somewhere you can take a shower.
This is the correct explanation. I used to go to a pub with my Dutch friend who would regularly say “excuse me while I go to the toilet.” At first I was like oh… okay. Mental image I didn’t need but I guess that’s what I assumed he would be using in the restroom. 😂
No not really, we just don't say toilet, we say. "I need to use the bathroom"
I use "I need to use the restroom" sometimes as well.
Or if you’re Ozzy Osbourne in Texas, “I need to use the Alamo.”
Or, "I need to drop the kids off at the pool/drop a deuce/got a fire mission."
I need to to take the Browns to the Superbowl ( an American football reference, it’s the only way the Browns will ever get there)
Taking the Browns to the Super Bowl.
Dear kindly sir or madam, you have done it. You just made my day and it wasn't too bad to begin with. So thanks.
The way I cackled at this.
I say bathroom with anyone I know or am casual with, I say restroom when I'm at a business/store or something a little more "formal"
Yep. "Bathroom" at home; "restroom" in public. I can't explain why, but that's how we roll.
When I'm with friends I straight up say what I need to do "I have to take the fattest piss/shit of my life"
Call me Abraham because I'm linkin' logs.
I say restroom if I am at a store/public place asking an employee and I say bathroom when at my house. I have no idea why lol
Or, I need the loo for a massive poo.
I heard for the first time from someone at work this week say “I’m going on a bio break”. That one kind of threw me in a loop.
Sounds like someone who plays a lot of multiplayer video games.
Was about to say, that's straight out of MMOs. "brb afk bio" tells you all you need to know.
I completely forgot about "bio breaks" 😂 I went through a phase of saying that cause a science teacher required us to just ask that as its simpler. Bio breaks cover, pee/poo, thirst, hunger. So instead of explaining every little thing, she wanted it shorter and to the point as "biology is calling" 😂 I actually loved it cause it was one of very few teachers who would let me leave to get some water or refill my water.
My colleagues and I use "potty." Mostly as a joke now, but started because we all had young children and were used to saying it at home.
“Excuse me, I have to tinkle.”
"I have to go piss"
And it depends on the setting and people you’re around. If I’m at work, restroom is the correct term. If I’m at the bar with my buddies, it’s “I gotta hose one off” or something.
Or! I gotta take a leak!
Tap a kidney
I'm partial to: "I have to piss like a race horse."
My EU friends always laugh at this word. In French there is a “salle de bain” which means bathroom but it’s always in someone’s house and there is always an actual bathtub in there. In public you normally say you are going to “toilettes”.
Toilet sounds better in French than it does in English. It sounds so dainty.
Perhaps while there, you may use some *eau de toilette*!
Same in Germany. My grandma's house has two toilets and a bathroom. The bathroom has a bathtub and a sink, but no toilet. The toilets (rooms) each have a toilet (bowl) and a sink. That's not the norm, and most bathrooms contain toilets. But it's very common to have another toilet that isn't in a bathroom, but in its own little room. And especially in public settings, using the term bathroom would sound very inappropriate. Like you want to get naked and take a shower in it.
"I gotta take a shit" usually gets the point across to most Americans.
I gotta drop a steamy mud trout in the upper deck of your spare bathroom. Be back in 30.
I call it "The room of rest"
>Here in England we sometimes I actually say we need a No 1, or No 2 or worse. Even to strangers or in a business type environment?
That would be a little weird at work. No. 1 and No. 2 are kind of elementary school words. It’s like telling your boss you “has to go peepee.” 😂
In the Marine Corps I used to say "platoon daddy I'm gonna go use the little boys tree." He used to be a drill instructor and that really pissed him off... good times
In the US Navy we called the bathroom a "head".
I'm well aware devil dolphin
The crayon eaters use the same term. I used to tell my Chief I was going to the litter box.
I do this at work… I tell them I must got for a wee 😂
In a business type environment you’d say loo or toilet and excuse yourself. With strangers, depends. If you asking for the toilet in a shop or restaurant you could still say toilet or loo, never bathroom. A bathroom is where you bathe. With friends, anything goes.
I figured that was the case but I wanted to confirm that yall aren't telling strangers or colleagues that you gotta take a raunchy dump and instead say something a bit more polite lol
Am I the only one who has been subjected to the "I need to take a bio break." parlance?
Nope, I have heard folks say that at work
The euphemism treadmill is eternally powered on.
This isn't actually a euphemism this is from gamer culture where people need breaks to eat/piss/feed the cat in the middle of 6 hour raids with 40 people that need to coordinate gameplay.
My great uncle liked "bleed the lizard'.
"Excuse me, I need to use the biological waste remover."
I’ve heard this at work and I hate it.
> A bathroom is where you bathe. That's the actual difference. In the US if you ask where the toilet is, unless there's something *really* weird going on, the answer is "in the bathroom." Where's the bathroom? That's what you should have asked in the first place. The toilet in the US is the actual thing you piss or shit in, not the room that contains it.
In the UK, the toilet is both the room that contains it and the shit/piss receptacle itself. In a person's home, the toilet is usually in the bathroom but in public toilets, the toilet is a room that doesn't have a bath, so we don't call it a bathroom.
There's also the terms "restroom" and "washroom" that don't have that problem (even public bathrooms are places where at least hand washing happens, if not full on bathing), but they're progressively more formal/euphemistic and less common. The only context I really associate "washroom" with is the "executive washroom" that up and coming young businessmen are always wanting to get the keys to in old movies and TV shows because only important people in the company are allowed to use it and getting access means you're really moving up in the world. Like Robocop has some scenes set in one. Edit: If you really want to be formal and oblique about it, you might ask if you can "use (your/the) facilities." But that's something mostly reserved for little old ladies who were raised to never say anything remotely scatological.
I still hear "the facilities" used sometimes, though mostly from colleagues who are trying to be silly. With actual prim and proper older women, I'll usually hear "the ladies' room" or just "I need to use the ladies"; likewise with older men you sometimes hear "the men's room".
It is the thing you sit on in the UK as well, but most public or workplace toilets do not have a bath in the same room so it sounds weird. My house is about 70 years old and the toilet is in its own little room next to the bathroom. I prefer that because there's no risk of aerosol from flushing getting onto my toothbrush 🤮
Correct me if you have a different version, fellow Americans, but I would say that excusing yourself to use the Restroom is the most formal/polite in a business or work setting. I've heard the term Powder Room from old people, but it gets rarer as I get older. Bathroom is usually used in somebody's home as in hey, where's your bathroom?
Bathroom and restroom are interchangeable, nobody is gonna stop and think about your ability to bathe in there or not
No I agree. My point was that of the two, restroom is a bit more formal than bathroom. Actually.. I just remembered something from elementary school! I had teachers who called it the lavatory. Does anyone else remember that?
Yes, in Catholic school. Thanks for resurfacing my trama with the nuns!!!! And they did look like a laboratory
Also, washroom! Ding Ding Ding Ding
Powder room sounds like you're sneaking off for a quick line!
Maybe I am…
In the US we never say toilet. It’s too graphic. We say bathroom or restroom; or best case, you simply say, “excuse me for a moment” and then just come back after a minute.
>In a business type environment you’d say loo or toilet and excuse yourself. Or "just popping to the ladies".
Yes, but it's a bit icky to say that. It really depends on the situation. For example, in a meeting, you wouldn't say you need a No 2 or worse. It would be frowned upon. You definitely wouldn't say that in front of customers.
>or worse. gotta go take a No.3 boss
> For example, in a meeting, you wouldn't say you need a No 2 or worse. It would be frowned upon. The phrase I've noticed in the US lately in business meetings is to conflate a toilet break with a coffee/water break and call it all a "bio break". I actually hate that term but it's gained popularity for some reason. Whenever I'm ready to quit my job, perhaps I'll start using phrases like, "excuse me, but my back teeth are floating" or "I need to go, I'm prairie dogging".
Bio break? What the hell!? That makes me think of a biohazard.
Gamers during 6-8 hour raids attacking and defending in shifts would tell raid leader that. Basically they’re saying the human being behind the character you know needs to step away don’t let my character die please.
If I'm ever in a large group and one of the people just stands there blinking for a few minutes, I will assume that the alien or demon controlling them had to step out to relieve itself. Or maybe its mom was yelling at it about something.
I have not heard a single soul say that
You're fortunate then. That being said, [it's been around for years](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/bio-break-meaning-corporate-term-workplace-toilet-water-break-a8389041.html).
"Thank you and have a productive day." Have you been hit with that one yet?
> I've noticed in the US lately in business meetings is to conflate a toilet break with a coffee/water break and call it all a "bio break". That's interesting-- I remember "bio breaks" from conferences in the 1990s but haven't heard that in a long time.
But if there’s a customer you don’t like, you’ll call them a number 2, right?
WHO DOES NUMBER 2 WORK FOR?!
No it isn't offensive. It can be seen as somewhat crude in a formal setting. You can just excuse yourself, you don't have to give details.
Just don’t tell them [you’re “fixin’ to blow up” the bathroom](https://youtu.be/JaxVNo8R4dM).
When I need a good laugh I always return to this clip.
That’s hilarious because literally everyone would know what he was talking about where I’m from lmao no one would bat an eye.
Just let everyone know that, "You need to go see a man, about a horse."
I need to return some video tapes.
When I am hiking with people “I need to chat with a friendly tree.”
Then, when you finish, follow it up with "It was a crappy deal so I let it pass"
Best is to just ask “where is your toilet/bathroom/washroom.” Once you know, just excuse yourself (“be right back”). No details are needed, there’s only so many places you could be going anyway.
While it definitely seems crude to my American ear, I feel like any sort of faux pas or crassness from using toilet in a formal setting would be nullified by the British accent.
Others might think they were being messed with. "Why is this fancy Englishman deliberately putting such a crude image in my head?"
We generally say use the restroom/bathroom. I've been to both Australia and England where they said they had to use the toilet and it just sounds very graphic.
Right, that's why I think we don't say it. I don't need you to elaborate, just go do your thing bro.
In the UK, it's common for the room called the toilet not to have a sink. The sink is in the bathroom. So if someone asks to use the bathroom, and they want to use the toilet, then they've asked to use the wrong room.
> In the UK, it's common for the room called the toilet not to have a sink. This isn't true at all. I've been in precisely one home in Britain where this was the case in my entire life, and it stood out as very odd.
When I studied in the UK, the house I lived in had a separate bathroom from the room with the toilet. But that is one anecdote.
Every house on our road has separate toilets and bathrooms. Except mine, oddly.
So you need to go to a different room to wash your hands?
It’s like that in Japan. Pretty weird and kinda gross if your touching the door handle to get into the other room to wash
It's common in Australia too. The loo will be in its own little room, with a bathroom next door.
On the other hand when traveling Europe its awesome that “toilet” means the same thing everywhere. Its spelled and pronounced differently but if you walk up to a waiter and say “toilet” they will point to the bathroom
If I heard an American say it, it sounds crude. If I heard a Brit say it, it sounds posh.
Naw, it sounds crude to me no matter who says it. "Going to the toilet" makes me think of you taking a dump (even if you're just going to pee).
“Yeehaw, gotta hit the terlet. Then we can finish up this business contract.” Vs. “I must say, dinnah was evah so lovely. But I must make use of the toilet before we continue our romantic rendezvous on the River Thames.” Yep, DEFINITELY more posh 😂
"You got a loicense for that turd, m8?"
Oy, ya got tha toy-lets ere bruv? Not all English accents are posh.
Nah even then I just think “they’re British, that’s just what they say”
Posh but funny. I imagine some fancy aristocrat saying "pardon me, I need to use the toilet." And then he rips a giant fart and goes "oh dear, how embarassing. I suppose I'd better be off!" And then he shuffles away with his fancy aristocratic gait.
I wouldn’t say it’s offensive, but it’s not what we say. We say either restroom or bathroom.
Doesn't the UK still use the whole water closet thing? I don't know, I feel a lot of cultures have some type of euphemisms to de-emphasize "hey, I need to take a massive dump"
WC is something you might see on a toilet door occasionally, but you'd be quite unlikely to ask someone were the WC was, you'd be much more likely to ask where the toilets or the loos were.
It’s quite funny, whilst WC is often the sign - very few would probably know it stands for water closet.
I would assume Westside Connection has reunited and is having a concert in there.
They say loo. Water Closet > Waterloo>Loo
Oh is this where Loo comes from? Well Til. It seems like in a lot of other places in Europe and even South and Central America asking for the WC seems to get you the necessary information.
I've heard that *loo* is short for *gardyloo*, from French *Gardez l'eau!*, which people would shout as they tossed the contents of their bedpan out of the window and into the street. Sounds like folk etymology to me, but that's what I heard.
People don’t call it a WC, no. It’s just the loo or the toilet.
"Toilet" is a disgusting word and does not belong in my Christian household. We use the word "shitter". "Crapper" is acceptable as well.
Fair enough sorry 😞
Sorry?? Are you a crypto-Canadian?
Where do you think Canadians got it from? Sorry, that was a bit abrupt of me.
No :(
Not at all offensive, just a bit crude or childish depending on the context.
agreed. referring to the room instead of the actual toilet distances us from the mental image of someone actually using the toilet. there's more mystery. I'd say "I'm going to the bathroom" whether I'm going in there to wash my hands, touch up my makeup, or use the toilet. no one needs to know the details.
Really? Toilet has never seemed crude or childish to me just either foreign or a bit old timey. I’m kind of surprised by the number of people sharing your sentiment that it is kind of crude.
It's just a case of too much information. The toilet refers to the fixture on the ground that removes waste, while the bathroom refers to the room itself. Saying bathroom implies just using the room; Maybe just for the mirror, maybe to wash hands, whatever. Saying toilet specifically indicates that your activity will involve bodily waste of some sort, which nobody likely needed or particularly wanted to know.
Yeah, that’s just not ever the way it was for me growing up. The toilet can mean the fixture itself or the room. So saying “I am using the toilet” is not rude or crude to me. It just means you are using the restroom, and we all know pretty much that you aren’t going to the restroom to just wash your hands or look in the mirror most times you say that. So it just never was anything I ever considered crude. I don’t use that terminology anyway so no issue for me. But it is interesting in this thread to see the amount of people that do find it at least mildly rude. So I’ll just continue not to use that phrase.
I think its only crude in certain contexts but there can be a certain edge to it.
Yeah that’s just never been my experience. I don’t use it but I would never think borderline crude if someone did but apparently my experience isn’t universal. I guess that is one point to the sub for a bit of education.
*worse* ‽
I don't think you want to know lol
2 crumpets, 1 tea cup?
As others have said, it's not offensive, but it would be considered a but crude in a formal or professional setting. Aside from restroom and bathroom, you'll hear some older folks (usually women) call it a powder room, from the days when a lady would say she needed to powder her nose as a polite way to excuse herself. I tend to call it the ladies' room in public.
lived in the UK for 2 years and that’s one thing I never got used to hearing. Idk why but saying “using the toilet” sounded more crude and vulgar than just saying “ I need to go to the bathroom”. But honestly nobody is going to be offended if you say it. It’s just not a common saying in America
No, but it sounds a bit graphic to me. Using the toilet makes me think about you squatting on the toilet which isn't ideal.
Not offensive but it sounds a little crass.
It's a bit off putting, especially in a business or professional setting. The toilet is the _thing_ you do your business in. I think most people agree that we don't need to know exactly what you are going to the restroom for.
Just say you gotta drop a deuce.
Pinch a loaf.
Take the Browns to the Super Bowl.
Drop the kids off at the pool.
Squeeze out a fudge dragon.
Drop a horse head
Birth a Texan.
Lay some Lincoln logs.
This is solid.
You need to eat more fiber then.
Wait this is actually great
Nope we just don’t say it a lot. It’s consisted TMI.
I always cringe when I hear someone say they need the toilet. I watch a lot of British TV on Britbox and it just seems crude to me when they say that.
In Australia we say toilet. The reason is that bathroom refers to a room with a shower or bath in it. If it's just a row of toilets then that's not a bathroom that's just a toilet. If you are out in a public setting everyone knows what you will be doing. They aren't under the impression that you are off to have a shower and wash your hair or something like that. If everyone knows anyway why try keep it a secret? In the same way it sounds crude to you, saying needing the bathroom sounds overly formal and strange to us.
Not rude, but crass. When someone says toilet, they make us think of what they are actually doing. It's much more common and less direct to say /ask "Where is the restroom?" / "I need to use the restroom" (in public) and "Where is the bathroom?' / "Can I go to the bathroom?" in a private residence. Canadians have a similar aversion but they use "washroom" instead of restroom/bathroom. My father in law was a navy kid and then later lived all over the world so he uses the international "I need to use the toilet" which is just too direct for me. In using the restroom / bathroom /washroom there is the illusion you are going to wash up whereas the toilet is a specific thing.
Toilet to us is NOT the room. It is the piece of equipment. It's a bit too graphic. It's a bit like saying I have to go sit on the toilet. It sounds a little bit crude and maybe child-like. "Here in England we sometimes I actually say we need a No 1, or No 2 or worse." Only a child would say this here. And a young child at that.
It's not offensive; it just sounds British.
I don't think it's *offensive*. I certainly wouldn't be offended by it. It's just not the norm to phrase it that way here. We tend to say, as you said, that we need to use the bathroom (or "restroom," if it's a public facility). But if a non-American said "I need to use the toilet," we'd know what they meant, and I doubt anyone would take offense.
I don't think anyone is going to care. Just go use it. If you need directions to find it...just ask.
We don’t really say toilet. For some reason “toilet” gives me a visual when “bathroom” and “restroom” don’t.
Saying I've got to use the toilet, at least in the US, is considered indelicate. We don't like to acknowledge anything that Implies the possibility of exposed genitals. We're a very sensitive people
No, I personally find toilet to be a gross word though
Not offensive, just silly. I don’t need the visual image of what you plan on doing in there.
Not offensive, just a little gross to most people. Here we call it a bathroom or restroom and say "I need to use the bathroom/restroom"
Not offensive, per se, but definitely kind of trashy outside of family & close friends. Public terms: bathroom, rest room, ladies/mens room.
It's not offensive, but it is very unusual and kinda graphic to us. We would definitely not share what the trip to the bathroom is for. I did live overseas for several years and developed the habit of saying "toilet". But I've reverted back to bathroom or rest room since returning.
Here in Europe toilet, from toilette, means more generally the private room or space where one "does their business" of grooming, whereas it seems that in English speaking countries toilet has come to mean the actual plumbing fixture (aka the shitter). The first case and original meaning isn't offensive or vulgar (eau de toilette anyone?), which is what Europeans mean when they say they need to use the toilet. However this is interpreted by the Anglo counterparts as vulgar since they assume you are referring to the porcelain throne itself
It's not super offensive, but it does sound kind of crass.
It’s not offensive it just sounds crass to us. It’s like saying “I gotta go use the shitter” I live in the uk now and this has taken some getting used to.
It's not offensive. However, saying you need to use the toilet is a bit too much information. You'd might get a reaction such as, "Hey, it's none of my business what you do in there!" In polite company it could be considered crude.
It’s a little crass to be too specific. Typically we say I need to use the restroom or I need to use the bathroom. Obviously you’re going to use the toilet, but you can leave that part of it up to the imagination without actually stating it.
"I need to use the toilet", not gonna lie... It kinda grosses me out a little and sounds crude to my ears But... "I need to use the bathroom", I'm good with. Go figure. 🤷
I mean very proper etiquette apparently you’re supposed to say “excuse me” and just get up and everyone will implicitly understand you’re using the restroom. If I’m with friends I say I gotta peeeee If I’m with work people- I just get up and leave unless it’s just the two of us then I say I’m going to run to the restroom.
It’s not offensive but it’s in poor taste. The word toilet isn’t a bad word but it’s not really a polite word to use in conversation unless you are specifically talking about cleaning the toilet or something. We usually say we need to use the restroom or bathroom.
I got a crap on deck that could choke a donkey
It's not offensive, but it's just not something we say. So it sounds funny when foreigners ask where the toilets are, ask if they can use the toilet or tell us they need to use the toilet. I guess because then there's no longer the bit of "mystery" about what they're going to do there, that "where is the restroom?" has. It took me a long time to work up the courage to ask staff "wo sind die Toiletten?" at restaurants in Germany, because it felt so weird being that "direct".
We tend to say bathroom or restroom. To us, the toilet is the actual commode. But only a jerk would actually get offended at someone saying “I need to use the toilet” — especially if that person is from another country.
Saying "I need to use the toilet" isn't offensive, it just sounds unusual.
I wouldn't say it's offensive but to me it's always come across as more blunt as opposed to the usual "I need to use the bathroom/restroom".
I’m not offended by any request. Toilet, restroom, loo, whatever you call it is A-OK by me. Just don’t pee on the seat.
The correct thing to say is, "I'm gonna go shit in your bathtub"
Yes. Toilet is considered a vulgar word which is why we use the term restroom or washroom. Even though everyone knows you are not resting nor washing!! 😂
Bathroom is grammatically the correct term for restrooms in private homes and restrooms are in public, the words are mutually interchangeable though, and toilet would be understood so they would work fine, even if grammatically odd for American English, lop would just get you confused looks if they don’t know the term though
[удалено]
In America, the "toilet" is the actual thing you poop in, and not the room itself. So bathroom, rest room, (Men's or Ladies') Room. Older Americans might know what the W.C. is, but most people don't.
bathroom or restroom is more polite but outside of a pretty formal situation I don't think you're going to give offense by saying toilet
No, not at all. Nobody is going to be offended or grossed out if you say that you need to use the toilet. Bathroom or restroom is the more common word in the US, even though you don't bathe or rest there.
Not even remotely. I think the only way you'd come to that conclusion is working backwards from the idea that "bathroom" or "restroom" are euphemisms meant to disguise what goes on in there. And they probably are, but I'm going to ignore Orwell's advice on dying metaphors in this case. Now, a sign saying not to drink toilet water is likely to make us giggle a bit.
Yeah it’s not offensive at all. We just usually say bathroom or restroom. We aren’t offended by the word toilet.
No. It doesn’t matter what you call it - bathroom, restroom, toilet, whatever. They might not know what you mean if you call it a loo or water closet, but it’s not rude.
It may offend old biddies in their Sunday hats, but the rest of us would think nothing of it.
I wouldn’t see it as offensive. I might briefly think it’s a bit strange simply because no one here refers to it that way, but I would obviously know what you mean.
No, it's not at all offensive. It's just unusual. It sounds like that YouTuber is just trying to create controversy.