The many ways to refer to "The smallest room in the house"

[Almirena]

Outhouse and dunny are probably interchangeable, except that dunny is a VERY rural term indeed, especially when said in a broad "Ocker" accent (which is Australian slang for the broadest and most exaggerated Australian pronunciation and vocabulary). The range of broad Australian accents is remarkable. Has anyone here seen an Australian comedy series called Kath and Kim? The two main actresses produce a very broad kitsch suburban Australian accent that I find almost impossible to imitate - when I try, my best friend mocks the attempt and tells me "broader, it's got to be broader and whinier".

[DeadPoolX]

Same here, only we use the name John.

I didn't know!

I'm wondering: why? Mumble mumble...

The name "John" for a toilet dates back to when Prince John was chastised by King Richard. According to legend, Richard said the following: "Brother, you have surrounded your given name with a foul stench! From this day forth, all the toilets in the kingdom shall be known as... johns!"

[Rath Darkblade]

Actually, no. I'm almost certain that legend is false. King John was a capable administrator and organised tax-gathering well, but he was also an inept warrior and commander and an atrocious diplomat. His failure to raise the money necessary to ransom Richard is also well-known. Nevertheless, it is also known that Richard never held any acrimony towards his younger brother.

I find it ironic, furthermore, that Richard the Lionheart should be so admired in England; he only spent 6 months of his reign in it, knew almost no English, found the weather depressing, and once famously declared that he would sell London for sixpence if he could find a buyer.

Anyway, there would definitely not have been any private toilets in Richard the Lionheart's time, and almost certainly no 'common' ones. The first 'common' toilet was built by Sir Richard Whittington in the late 1300s, the so-called 'Longhouse', a 128-seat 'common room' with on partitions and no privacy that emptied out into the River Thames. Although a few castles had 'houses of easement' that were similarly situated over the waters of the moat, there were very few other toilets other than what people did for themselves.

The term "john" for a toilet dates from Tudor times, at least 400 years after Richard the Lionheart's death. In 1592, Queen Elizabeth was offered a novel alternative to the usual crude model:

"...While staying with her godson, Sir John Harington, at Kelston near Bath, she was invited to test his invention - the first modern water closet, complete with a seat and a lever by means of which you could flush water down from a cistern above. The Queen liked it so much that she had one installed in her palace at Richmond." (From Great Tales from English History, v.2 by Robert Lacey)

Harington did much to publicise his model, going so far as to publish a book detailing how, for 28s 6d (about 250 pounds today) you too could have a working toilet in your home - and keep a goldfish in the cistern, too! Therefore, his name is probably why the toilet is nicknamed a 'John'.

[AndreaDraco]

Interesting explanation, Rath! Thanks!

[Almirena]

Knowing DPX, I'm fairly certain his post was a leg-pull... a jape, a humorous tall tale, a joke, a mere jest...

[Fender_178]

Now outhouses are illegal depending on your community. It has to something to do with the waste or something. My my Grandpa and Grandma's house on my mother side of the family had an outhouse on what used to be an old farm house and farm land.

[DeadPoolX]

Rath... I was making a joke, just as Almirena said. If you've seen Robin Hood: Men in Tights you'd recognize where the quote comes from.

[Jules]

I was just going to say, wasn't that from Robin Hood??

Thanks for the explanation, Rath.

[Rath Darkblade]

Rath... I was making a joke, just as Almirena said. If you've seen Robin Hood: Men in Tights you'd recognize where the quote comes from.

Whoops, I didn't realise. *blush* I've seen Robin Hood: Men in Tights, but so long ago that I'd forgotten that gag. My bad. *blush*

[Almirena]

The main thing I remember from that Robin Hood: Men In Tights film was the chastity belt.

Oh, more terms for this important functionary room/facility - garderobe (mediæval); latrine; can; privy; the gents' (for a public toilet for men); the ladies' (for a public toilet for women); lavatory; reredorter (mediæval); and the ancient Egyptians' term for it translates to House of the Morning; but that pales in weirdness to the Israelite expression House of Honour. Apparently it can be referred to as Room 101 in Europe, but I've never heard this used.

[AndreaDraco]

Apparently it can be referred to as Room 101 in Europe, but I've never heard this used.

Never heard it too...

[Maiandra]

After visiting the US a fair amount in the last couple years and having lived in the UK for two years, I found that "Ladies Room" was the most widely understood. Of course, here in Canada, I use "washroom". Unless I'm around people I know, then I say "loo" because I think it sounds funny.

[DeadPoolX]

... but that pales in weirdness to the Israelite expression House of Honour.

Perhaps that's due to "sitting on the throne" when in the bathroom?

After visiting the US a fair amount in the last couple years and having lived in the UK for two years, I found that "Ladies Room" was the most widely understood. Of course, here in Canada, I use "washroom". Unless I'm around people I know, then I say "loo" because I think it sounds funny.

Unfortunately, I've picked up the habit of calling the bathroom a "loo" from Maia.

[Rath Darkblade]

The main thing I remember from that Robin Hood: Men In Tights film was the chastity belt.

Oh, more terms for this important functionary room/facility - garderobe (mediæval); latrine; can; privy; the gents' (for a public toilet for men); the ladies' (for a public toilet for women); lavatory; reredorter (mediæval); and the ancient Egyptians' term for it translates to House of the Morning; but that pales in weirdness to the Israelite expression House of Honour. Apparently it can be referred to as Room 101 in Europe, but I've never heard this used.

That's weird - I was born in Israel and I've never heard of that expression... *shrugs* Usually it would just be called "the toilet" or "the facilities".

[Fender_178]

Also in a local mall in my area they had the restrooms labeled instead of Men and Women they had Ladies and Gentlemen as the labels. Which I though was weird. I don't remember if they still have those labels since I haven't been in there an long time.