BRITISH COUPLE REACTS | British Words That Are RUDE in America! 🇺🇸 | American vs British
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- BRITISH COUPLE REACTS | British Words That Are RUDE in America! 🇺🇸 | American vs British
OUR MOVIE CHANNEL - / @thebeesleystvshowsmovies
Check out our Merch! - the-beesleys-m...
Support the Channel on Patreon - / beesley
If you would like to Donate VIA Paypal to our Wedding Fund - paypal.me/theb...
P.O Box -
FAO: James Beesley
The Good Egg Farmers
P.O Box 19
JERSEY
JE4 9NH
Thank you so much for watching this reaction video!
Please smash that like button and subscribe!
Discord - / discord
Twitter - / beesleyyt
Original Video - • 🇬🇧British Words That A...
Comment below more reaction ideas or DM me on Twitter!
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Homely does not mean old, its more like unattractive or plain
I was gonna say the same..
Deteriorated is a better word, then old. But it's also got the implications of what Brett's call mumsy. Which is not precisely plain.
We rarely use that word though
Homely generally means unattractive, although in older literature, people would refer to the “homely virtues” as being proper or traditional values.
Homely basically means spinsterly, doudy, etc. All words that are old-fashioned and don't really get used, but most people know them. So, saying that something looks homely is not a compliment.
As an American, if you asked me where the toilet was, I'd look at you funny and say, "It's in the bathroom. Where else would it be?"
my first thought too!
100% like a child’s riddle!
I wouldn't. I'd point them to the bathroom.
Cringe
Yeah it’s very off putting in my opinion.
About the toilet thing, I would say most people use the term "restroom" in a public place. "Bathroom" would usually be used in a house. But very few people would use the term "toilet" unless referring to the specific item of a toilet.
That's true. In public they had chairs I think in the 30s I think they would have chairs or couches in public toilets mainly women's toilets
Agreed... in a restaurant for example I would ask where is the restroom. If I was visiting in someone's home or a friend's house, I would ask where is the bathroom.
Beat me to it.
As mentioned in other comments, "restroom" is mainly for public facilities, "bathroom" is for a toilet in a person's home. If you want to be vulgar you can simply ask, "where's the shi++er?"😂
My fellow Americans, don't forget that in public it's usually called the men's room or the ladies' room. In Spanish it's labeled Caballeros or Damas.
To me, homely means someone who is plain-looking or almost ugly. I usually use bathroom, except out in public, I say restroom.
It must be strange for Americans when they come over here in the UK and see massive signs in public places like train stations saying "Toilets". The same in many other European countries like Germany and the Netherlands.
@@ajs41not too confusing. We say restroom but we also know what a toilet is. Since the toilet is in a place, we refer to the place not the object.
@@ajs41 they don't say "WC"? or use a symbol like an image of a male figure and female figure standing next to each other? "toilet" is English... 🙂
Don't worry, if you ask an American where the toilet is, they will understand. It just sounds a little weird over here because we would say "restroom" or "bathroom". It's not offensive, just a little strange, lmao.
8:00 Whenever I’ve heard “homely” referring to a person, it usually meant they were plain-looking and kinda ugly. I’ve never heard it used in the context of “old.”
12:36. Yes, “Restroom” is more common in a public building while “bathroom” is more common in a home. The difference being that a Restroom doesn’t have a bath.
“Toilet” usually refers specifically to the commode. It’s even a bit crass in some circles.
Yeah I couldn't imagine asking where the TOILET is. 🫢🤢
Yes "Homely" means ugly and at best plain looking. It doesn't mean old.
@@bronsonspencer8567 Correct. It does not mean old, not sure where she got that idea.
I use homely to mean mildly ugly but not fugly.
@@anndeecosita3586 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Agree with the people saying homely generally means a plain-looking person. Either in appearance or dress. Like a step up from ugly, but a step down from pretty, but in a very plain looking way.
Homely just means unattractive / ugly. It does not necessarily mean old.
Oddly enough, it means "cosy" here in England. A homely house is a cosy house.
yeah but to most people especially young people old = less attractive.
Not me, I think a lot of women over 50 are hot (I'm 45).
The thing with asking for the toilet in the US we don’t refer to the room as the toilet it’s only referring to the thing you sit on. So asking for the toilet is right up there with saying I need to pee or I need to take a poo; too much information didn’t need to say that.
Toilet to Americans is the literal thing you sit on to “go” and not the overall room that the porcelain toilet is in. 🚽🤣
We say toilets in the UK to mean restrooms or bathroom. Also in other countries like Germany, Netherlands, etc.
@@ajs41
A lot of times the “universal European” term I’ve seen on signs in Continental Europe is “WC”
I presume in English it would stand for “water closet” or something like that
Homely doesn't mean old and run down. It means ugly.
Funny how here in the UK it means cosy. For instance, you might describe someone's house as homely to mean it's a cosy house.
@@ajs41For Americans that would be homey for cozy.
It doesn't mean "ugly". It means "plain or unattractive" but unattractive doesn't mean ugly. Comely>Homely>Ugly.
@@RexFuturiit means fugly
@@RexFuturi Hmmm. I am trying to go back to my youth when "homely" was used in common speech a lot more. Perhaps it may have been the start of meaning creep because I never remember it being used as anything other than a synonym for ugy. But that was the 70s/80s and perhaps my memory isn't perfectly clear.
I’m not sure why she focused so much on old relating to homely which it really doesn’t have anything to do with old it’s straight up ugly. So if you call a girl homely you’re not saying she looks old you’re saying she’s ugly. I guess it’s part of her bias because she just thinks old people are ugly 🤷🏻♀️
Or because she's young and it's not really used as much anymore. At least I don;t hear It' I'm 54 and I can't recall it being used much in teh last couple of decades. Heck even when I was in high school we'd used other words instead of homely
And, believe it or not, comely is the opposite of homely. It means pretty or attractive. I'm not kidding. It really does. Both are very old. I don't think anyone says either one anymore.
@@harryballsak1123I’m younger and have heard and used homely as a “more polite” way of calling someone or slightly ugly. Probably depends on region and culture. If it had totally gone away decades ago there wouldn’t be as many people on here who know what it means. Reminds me of how James and Milly had no idea what yonder meant but in my region of the USA it’s a commonly used word.
@@anndeecosita3586 I didn't say it's never said I said it's said less often which as an older person I am able to know more than someone who wasn't around during a time when it was being said perhaps more often. I would neve say to someone who was alive in the 1950s Oh they said this or didn't say that then because I wasn't there, they were
Restroom / bathroom can be interchangeable although a lot of people mostly say restroom in public places. I would say bathroom if I'm at someone's home.
Yes because a bathroom has an actual bath.
Americans seem to find the word "toilet" a bit rude, whereas it isn't rude at all here in England. We say toilets instead of restrooms or bathroom.
I grew up saying washroom because my mother was from Canada.
I'm American. I usually use 'bathroom' while in someone's home, but 'restroom' at a public establishment. I think it's because all the signs in restaurants and malls say 'restrooms.' However, 'toilet' doesn't bother me in the slightest. When I traveled in Europe, I used 'toilet' because its meaning is more universal. When I had to go, understanding was my priority. I see everyone else in the comments corrected the 'homely' bit....
A lot of people say ladies room and men’s room for in public.
“Homely” in the US means “ugly”, not old. Cigarettes or meat are never the meaning of the other word, regardless of context. A “toilet” is the specific porcelain device you sit on.
yeah homely is a slightly nicer way to say unattractive. i still wouldn't call someone that to their face.
Homely means plain, not ugly. A homely person is unattractive, but they're also not quite repellant either
Homely is one of those words that almost means the opposite in the UK compared to the USA. It mean "cosy" in the UK.
Cigarettes have been referred to by that since the late 19th century... Americans never used that term for cigs, therefore it's only meaning is the singular one we've assigned to it here.
@@colej.banning2419 this is how I think of it, just plain & not attractive.
Homely actually used to mean the exact same thing in both Britain and America. Not sure when the meaning changed in Britain, but in the Gilbert and Sullivan musical "Pirates of Penzance", the word homely is actually used as an ironic song lyric in the modern American context, but was written in Victorian era England, implying that homely meant the same thing in Britain at that time that it means in America now.
And FYI, the lyric from "Pirates" I am referring to is the line, "Oh is there not one maiden here, whose homely face and bad complexion, have caused all hope to disappear, of ever winning man's affection?"
In Restaurants We Say Restroom in Homes We Say WashRoom/BathRoom 😊
Canadians call it the washroom.
And lavatory, as we used to call them in school, means washroom.
Growing up here in the US, the word that we all used in schools for the room with sinks and toilets (the boys room also including urinals) was "lavatory".
Though no longer commonly used, it's still the exact definition of this common public room.
Or "ladies room" / "men's room".... never TOILET. 🤭🤣🤣
bothers me how people seem to no longer know what a lavatory is, 9/10 times when I ask for the lavatory I end up having to say bathroom b/c ppl are just like 'the what?'. it's embarrassing to me, and I guess shows my age.
I'm not being a smart-aleck. I'm legitimately curious. What generation are you from? I was born in '86, and I've never heard anyone use "lavatory" in person, though I do know what it is.
Literally, it means the exact same as "wash-room," which I have heard from older folks.
@@weezerfan084 I'm born in '71, & I definitely know what it is. Heck, that's what it's called on planes & buses! 🤣🤷♀️
@@weezerfan084 Yes, it's too bad the word which correctly defines the room we all seek is not known by younger people.
One of the funniest American/English same words with different meanings interactions I've heard involved the phrase "knock you up."
The American and a pair of Brits (possibly Australians), had dinner the night before a business meeting. The pair were male and female. While saying goodnight outside their hotel rooms, the male told the female "I'll knock you up in the morning."
The American had a gobsmacked moment, before bursting out laughing. The American heard "I'll get you pregnant in the morning."
😳😂😂😂
wait so what does it mean? lol... "I'll come around 'knocking' at your door"?
@@cindydee8475 Yeah. Appearently they used "I'll knock you up" much as they used "I'll ring you up" (not at a cash register). They mean "I'll come over" and "I'll call you". Sounds weird to our American ears.
I agree with what someone said. In public, I would use "restroom," but in my home or another person's home, I would use "bathroom."
"Spotted dick with custard" has a similar chuckle reaction in the USA as "fanny pack" does in England. Not necessarily rude just makes people chuckle
Well it would be rude since a fanny is a vagina there.
"Restroom" is a term that came out of using a bathroom in a restaurant. It got shortened from some saying "restaurant bathroom".--probably by someone who was in a hurry to use the bathroom. lol It now references pretty much any bathroom outside of the home.
Brits use "Cee U Next Tuesday" far more often than it's used in the US. It's use is pretty much never appropriate to use in the US. Example of British usage of the word would be Daft C#NT.
And Homely doesn't mean old. It means basically a plain Jane.
The US equivalent of Up the Duff is Bun in the Oven. And the Aussie equivalent is - The Rabbit Died (As that's one of the ways pregnancies were confirmed prior to pregnancy tests. They'd inject a woman's urine into a rabbit and if she was pregnant the rabbit would die) Also in Aus, Banged Up is pretty common for pregnancy as well.
I'm in the US in the Midwest, specifically Gary Indiana, and what we call a woman who's pregnant, when used in a derogatory term, is knocked up, or knocked her up. So this may have more than 2 terms to mean the same thing. The US is known for many regional differences in vocabulary.
The rabbit died used to be used here in the US as well. I'm Gen X and remember an older woman saying that and my mother explaining and then having to reassure me that rabbits were no longer killed for that reason.
You mean Cee u next Chewsday.
The C word used to bother me, but it doesn't anymore. I'm Gen X and remember hearing "the rabbit died" as well in the '70s.
In the US banged up usually means injured. If some one were in a fight or had an accident where they got injured you might say they were pretty banged up.
What does Cee you next Tuesday mean?
As an American stationed in Suffolk in 1980s, imagine my reaction when a young English girl, shopping with her mum in Woolworth’s , told her she needed a “rubber” for school…
Homely just means unattractive or even ugly, not necessarily old. Our signs mainly say Restrooms (not bathroom) but some people call it bathroom, usually when at someone’s home, and would probably say ‘where are your restrooms?” when in a public place like a restaurant or store. (I’m from the Midwest). I have a funny story about the word rubber. I was attending an art college in the mid 80s and had a life drawing class where we drew nude models. Our professor was from Iran and had learned British English and had a strong accent. First day of class he was telling us about the supplies we needed to bring to class the next week and he said, ‘be sure to also bring your rubbers’ and the boys in class especially were snickering. Those of us who knew what he meant, told the others he meant an eraser but there was quite a bit of laughing going on about that.
The second one in the US would be viewed as bad the others it just depends on the context in which its used and not as big a deal as they are making it out to be..
They're being way too polite with homely. Homely is a synonym for ugly. It has nothing to do with age.
Yeah, I just kept thinking why does she keep mentioning age?
It means cosy over here in the UK, so almost the opposite meaning of in the United States.
Americans don’t use the word wanker but we know what it means.
Kevin Harvick used the word wanker recently.
I've used it when a group of us are acting goofy. But don't use it normally. Seems to be more of a comical word than serious.
13:20 “I’m going to wash my hands in the toilet” must have two VERY different meanings depending on which side of the pond you’re on.
Also we use Ladies' Room or Men's Room in restaurants.
At a friends house I ask for the bathroom, at a restaurant I ask for the restroom, and in gov't run places I ask for the lavatory. For me the words are basically how comfortable I am in a place.
And on Military bases i say latrine
Unfortunately, my name is "John" which is another U.S. term for toilet. Think of John as Loo's foreign relative. In public, sometimes the toilet is referred as gender specific, men's room or lady's room along with restroom, bathroom or powder room.
The first time I heard a Brit use "homely" was on the British show "Escape to the Country" where an agent shows a couple several properties. I quickly figured out what they meant, even though I had to laugh a little based on my definition that homely means ugly.
In the U.S. past generations would say "rubbers" for things you put on your feet when it rains...you call them "wellies". This is how it developed into the slang word for condoms. It's not used to describe rain shoes longer. We say "rain boots" or "galoshes". However, you may hear people joke: "make sure you take a raincoat" if they are meeting up with a bf or gf and it literally is referencing condoms.
We say bathroom most of the time, but sometimes people will say restroom in a somewhat more formal conversation. The idea is that restroom is less crass than bathroom...in some strange way lol.
I always heard 'homely' as a ugly plain looking
“The word toilet is French in origin and is derived from the word 'toilette', which translates as 'dressing room', rather than today's meaning. Toilette itself has its roots in another word; 'toile', which means 'cloth'.”
It’s a given, nobody in the states are going to wonder why you want to shower if you ask to use their bathroom.
In California realtor-speak, a powder room is a technical term for a room with only a toilet and a sink. Aka a half bath or a guest bath (no, there is no place to take a bath).
I think I first heard (actually I was reading) the word fa&&ot used as something other than an insult while reading Lord of The Rings. The writer mentioned a character "threw another fa&&ot on the fire...". I was around 11 years old, but I knew what it meant bc of the context.
Faggot is a special type of food in my area in England, and it has been for hundreds of years. Every time I write about it I get an annoying message saying "do you really want to use this word". Yes, because we were using it first. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_(food)
@ajs41 Funny you mentioned the "annoying message". I received the same one when submitting my comment. That's the very reason the Gs were replaced with &🤣
In my region(West US) "homely" is more like unfortunately plain, or without appealing aesthetic. We use bathroom and restroom fairly equally. If someone asked "where's your toilet?"...🤔
3:32 The full version or this word means "a bundle of sticks" so you can imagine where either slang meaning comes from.
Restroom was used for large restroom that have furniture in the front. Large mirrors like a dressing room. You don’t see many restrooms today but the word stuck. I have a restroom where I work. Large chairs and you can fix your makeup etc.
No. _"I'm going out for a fag."_ is _hilarious_ in American.
In Canada, we use the word "washroom" when out in public, and often in someone's home. It works better than bathroom. A small room with just a toilet and sink can also be called a "powder room" (as in the euphonism "powder your nose") in both the US and Canada, especially by realtors.
Homely, as an insult, is often used toward a young woman who is not considered as attractive as others. And since of course the entire western world makes such a big deal about being physically attractive, the word carries a lot of venom behind it that some people may not be aware of.
I’ve never heard homely used as something to describe only a young woman. I’ve heard it for men and people of all ages.
The word homely makes me think of the old W. C. Fields gag line, "Yes, it has, my little mud turtle, uh, turtle dove."
@@bethany8734 I said often, not only.
I'm married to a Brit. This is my daily life. And you do bathe in the bathroom. You bathe your hands after using the toilet. Your operating rooms are called theaters. And the worse offense is Adidas mispronounces their own name on American Adverts and Europeans just think we're stupid since Adidas is a German name for the owner of the company. But they say it wrong on our television commercials for some reason.
In the US military, the “toilet” is called the “latrine”.
That's also sometimes used here in England occasionally. Also lavatory, WC, and public convenience.
@@ajs41 The only time I hear lavatory is when I watch The Breakfast Club when the principal asks if anyone needs to go!😂
In the U.S. Navy and Marines it's called "the head".
@@ptournas oh, yeah. Forgot about that. I was Army, so that’s why we only said latrine.
@@kellymarklong Yeah, I remembered it because I was Navy! 😃
Homely is used for a person who is plain or without obvious physical beauty, almost but not quite ugly. I've never heard it used for old.
The word starting with C for lady parts is much worse word in the US than in the UK. While I have seen it used in Britain as interchangeable with a-hole, it is much stronger in the US.
That's what makes it really great. A woman knows you mean business when it's used at her direction.
Restroom grew out of "rest stop", which was what gas stations advertised in the early days of driving in the US, when it was considered vulgar to even mention a toilet. So that's why public places have restrooms and your house has a bathroom.
In the US, the words "f*g" and "f....t" are *highly* offensive. They're the equivalent of calling a black person the n-word. I've known the English use of the word for about 60 years, but I am still taken aback when I hear a British person in movies or TV shows talk about "having a fag", meaning cigarette.
"Restroom" generally refers to the facilities available in public or semi-public places. "Bathroom" is used generically for the room where the toilet is located, even if there are no bathing facilities in the room. The words "lavatory" or even "powder room" are also occasionally used, although they seem old-fashioned nowadays.
Homely means ugly, not necessarily old. "Up the duff" is about like Americans saying "knocked up" in cringe worthiness. "Bathroom" is used because almost no home has a room with just a literal toilet.
A bathroom is more like someone's home, a restroom is in a public space, as we have a LOT of public restrooms.
Generally the term bathroom is used at someone’s home or place that has a shower or bath tub. Restroom is used for when you are out and about at a restaurant or someplace public where usually there is only a toilet and sink
I remember in school, an European student in my class ask people around for a rubber; you can imagine the looks/shocks our faces had 😂
I live in Arizona, USA. Homely to me meant cozy and warm in a nostalgia kind of way. Never heard of it used to describe old and such
The offensive words were indeed offensive. The other words are a big nothing in actuality.Rest room is frequently used in public areas. Toilet is sometimes used but not that frequently. Most common is bathroom or rest room.
I concur with everyone else here: bathroom is for a house, restroom is in public. All our signs in public places say “restrooms”
Homely has nothing to do with age. It's generally a woman that is unkempt.
A few years ago while I was gaming online, one of our teammates must've said he was so pissed a hundred times. I had to look it up because he wasn't telling us why he was so mad...he was Australian and pissed means drunk there 😂.
If I was in someone’s house, I’d ask to use the bathroom. If I was in public, I’d ask to use the restroom.
Years ago erasers were also called rubbers here.. but ppl don't remember any longer
At my old job, the restroom really was a rest room or lounge. There was a room where you can take a rest. In the next room were The toilets. This was a very old building so apparently when it was built a rest room was a room to rest in. As time went on, Office buildings did not include these rest areas. Perhaps to use as much space as possible as office space as real estate prices increased.
The rubber story reminded me of shortly after I began working at a public health lab. After a quarterly meeting with the Epidemiology staff, one of the Epi's was telling us about how "interesting" the goody bags at their regional conferences can be, such as from the previous conference, which included an assortment of novelty rubbers in various flavors, colors and glow-in-the-dark... Unlike the story in the video, these were the "rude" kind, NOT erasers! 😁😄😆😅
I grew up on the east coast and we had to use the word "lavatory" for restroom in public schools. If you asked for permission to leave a classroom to use the "bathroom, toilet or restroom", it was an automatic denial of permission.
Homely in this part of the world (TX) is 'plain-jane'. "She's homely; not ugly but not attractive"
In regard to "toilet", in our home, we were raised to say "bathroom" at home. In public, we were taught to ask "Where is the "Ladies or Men's" room?"
Where I'm from, Restroom is usually used for going in public, Bathroom is used for going at home. :)
When I was in elementary and secondary school, it was customary to raise one's hand and ask to be excused if the restroom was needed.
PREGNANT: I've heard "a bun in the oven" before; but, it's not very common. I think that "knocked up" is more common -- but it's generally considered to be a vulgar form of slang and is rarely used. Other than that, I don't think that there are many slang terms for pregnant.
FUN FACT: When I was taking my first year Spanish course in the 7th grade, I had to perform a "dialogue" (a scripted conversation in Spanish) with a partner in front of my class. Since I barely knew my Spanish at this point, I didn't know how to respond to a question that my partner asked. She just stood there waiting for my response. Eventually, the teacher gave me a hint. After I finished, I said, "Yo soy muy embarasada!"
I thought that I was saying "I am very embarrassed!" However, I actually said, "I am very pregnant!" The teacher literally fell out of her seat laughing. A few years later, she told me that she continues to tell that story to all of her first-year Spanish students.
In businesses (restaurants and stores) there are big signs, sometimes with arrows, to the Restrooms.
Condoms are made of latex though non-latex versions exist for allergy friendly people or allergic to latex people.
Homely means ugly, very unattractive. I never heard it used as meaning old. In the Southern part of USA a toilet means a commode. “Restroom” is more common in a public building while “bathroom” is more common in a home. The difference being that a restroom doesn’t have a bathtub nor shower. There is actually a man's name that sounds like "loo", it is Lou. Lou is short for Louis.
We were taught to say the Lavatory for a place where there were toilets, urinals and washing sinks. A bathroom was a place where there was a bath...I might be an old school New England man but that is how we were taught.
In America I have heard some people refer to the bathroom as... Powder room, ladies room and men's room
We say bathroom in homes. We say restroom in public. Signs in stores etc will also say restroom.
The best question is, “do you have a bathroom?” from someone who has never been to your home before. There are memes with sarcastic answers like, “No, we pee in the back yard.”😂
Bathroom refers to a home room with a bathtub and shower, toilet, sink, cabinet for meds and toiletries. Restroom or washroom is what what is in pubs, restaurants, shopping malls.
"toilet" is far more detail then required.
Homely does not mean old! If you call someone homely in the U.S., you are saying they are very ugly. Most people here would say, where’s the restroom? Restaurants and public places have the word Restroom written on the door.
In America if you ask "Where's the toilet"
They will reply sarcastically, "Um. In the bathroom?"
In America we usually says bathrooms when it's a person's home like a friend's house or neighbor but restrooms with public buildings like schools, or business buildings.
I think it was Birdseye that got fined for making an advert in the 90s for having someone say they don't like the meatball, playing on the slur double meaning.
Re: Homely. It means plain or not attractive, but not outright ugly, whether speaking about people or houses or other objects. It's an older word that I still heard a lot as a child in the 70s but isn't used much anymore.
Re: toilets. In the U.S. it's more common to say restroom or bathroom ("restroom" generally used for public facilities, and "bathroom" generally more used for the one at home), and the toilet is the actual appliance. Apeaking of "facilities" you will occasionally hear someone refer to restrooms or bathrooms as "the/your facilities." As in "can I use your facilities?" People know what they mean.
But among us lower class folk, it's common to ask "where's your toilet" or "I need to use your toilet" or "I'm going to use the toilet" (or more crudely "I gotta take a piss/shit" and variations of that). The toilet itself is also often referred to as the "shitter", or jokingly as the porcelain throne, or if you're drunk and throwing up, you're "praying/bowing to the porcelain god."
Of course if you live in the bush and have to empty your toilet and bury or incinerate your waste, the toilet is amusingly called a "honeypot." Sometimes the porta-potties used at work sites and public events are also called honeypots. But more often just called porta-potties.
If you're on a boat or ship the bathroom is the "head" and if you're someone who owns or works on a boat or ship you might use that term for land facilities as well. If you're an owner of a cabin cruiser, yacht, sailboat, etc., you might use other nautical terms too, such as "starboard and port" instead of "right and left" because they want everyone to know they are boat owners so they talk like salty old sea captains. Often they even wear captain hats and want everyone to call them "captain" or "cap." Boat people can be annoying that way. 😉 (I'm just teasing, boat people, don't make me walk the plank! 🙂).
Anyway, as in the U.K. there may be variations in terms and meanings in the U.S.as well, depending on region, rural or urban, class differences, even your particular neighborhood or family. I'm speaking as a working class country/small town boy from the Pacific Northwest (greater Portland area).
Colloquialisms, slang, dialects, the development of languages over time, etc., is what makes language so interesting.
Millie does a really good American accent, I would love to hear her do more of it!
We have several names for a toilet.
1) Jon
2) crapper
3) bathroom
4) restroom
And others I can't say on here
Restroom is for public areas that wouldn't have a shower or bathtub and bathroom is for a home or other inhabited building that would have such things. I suppose we do have similar sayings to "up the duff" like "bun in the oven".
The term "fag" is extremely derogatory. There are no instances where it is remotely acceptable. "Homely" has nothing to do with age. It is just used to describe an unattractive woman. Restroom is in a public place. Bathroom is in someone's home. Toilet is literally the cammode or the loo.
Reminds me of the time Hasbro had to change the name of the Transformer called Slag. In the US slag just means molten metal.
One of my favorites the other way around was back when I was talking to a Brit about the 90s and we confused each other when the topic of a "fanny pack" came up, since apparently they're "bum bags" in the UK. And of course the "fanny" part is just a sort of old-fashioned, inoffensive term that means rear end in American English that has a very different meaning for Brits.
edit: I don't know if our UA-cam overlords will let me type this word, but "faggot" in American English does also refer to a bundle of wood.
I would say where’s the restroom in a restaurant or store. But usually ask where’s your bathroom in someone’s house.
Here in Arkansas,USA we’d say where’s the bathroom,restroom or can. But my parents,grandparents would have said where is the laboratory,facilities or washroom.
I am Canadian and I use the words bathroom or washroom. In my opinion if there is a bath or shower it's a bathroom but if not it's a washroom.
Restroom most often, bathroom in a house. But public places don't have bathing facilities, so its restroom. If someone asked me where the toilet was, I would say "in the bathroom."
In Hawaii, people often say lua, which is the Hawaiian word for toilet. “Make shi shi” is often said, also. Shi shi is water in Japanese.
American here. When I'm out at a restaurant I ask where the Ladies Room is. If I'm at a friends house I'd ask where the bathroom is.
Never heard up the duff. another term they use in certain places in the U.S. is she has a "biscuit in the oven".
While it's not a rule, generally we tend to say bathroom more at home and restroom more in public places or in more formal settings.
California guy here. I say bathroom 85% of the time, restroom 14% of the time, and washroom 1% of the time.
At a restaurant I would say 'restroom' and at someone's house 'bathroom'. Homely for where I am from (Texas) means someone that doesn't have get out of the house much and just stays at home by themselves.
In real estate listing in the US you might see a home listed as 2 1/2 bath. That's 2 full bathrooms (sink, toilet and tub/shower and 1 with just a sink and toilet) And i think restroom goes back to a time when the ladies room would have a room with a fainting couch and or chairs separate from the bathroom part. They haven't been built like that in a long time now
Fancy restaurants sometimes still have couches or chairs or tables for doing makeup.
Typically you would say "bathroom" at someone's home and "restroom" for restaurants if that makes any sense? lol
With toilet, the term in the US equates directly to the toilet bowl itself, the toilet fixture, not a room in which the toilets are. Hence, it sounds a bit crude. I never say “bathroom” as it’s very old fashioned and fading quickly in the States because it sounds like a place where one takes a bath. The proper term is indeed “restroom”, even though it’s a bit odd of a word, since no one goes there to rest. It’s a real deficiency in American English. The best word I know of, even if it’s restricted in use to airplane passenger travel, is “lavatory.” Maybe some day it will catch on, but it’s confined to aircraft toilets now.