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Author Topic: Brother John, Sister Loo and company  (Read 876 times)

Offline FoxPaws

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #30 on: July 26, 2018, 08:04:42 pm »
Announcing your intentions can also be code for, "Don't bother me."

Some of us, shall we say, tense up and lose momentum if we've got somebody hollering our names trying to find us or otherwise get our attention. Letting people know we're unavailable for the next few moments ensures we can take care of business privately and much more efficiently.  8)
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Offline Kiwi Cupcake

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #31 on: July 27, 2018, 09:56:48 am »
During school, we need to ask permission so I was use to people asking the teacher to be excused to use the "bathroom" or "restroom." Grown up words.

It wasn't until I was in my 20's with my first office job that I heard several adults say things like "Watch my desk. I going potty." And I still hear it many years and several jobs later.  And it's not from parents with toddlers who accidentally let it slip. I thought that was so weird and childish.
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Offline Lynn2000

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #32 on: July 27, 2018, 10:14:38 am »
I think some people feel awkward about mentioning it, even though in the situation it's appropriate to say something (like if a co-worker has to watch their phone or something), so they try to say something funny instead of just being straightforward.
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Offline Tisiphone

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #33 on: August 01, 2018, 02:07:56 pm »
In my family, we announced our intention to go to the bathroom. I still do in some cases, mainly because needed bathroom breaks were interruptions to whatever else we were doing and usually someone else was participating in the interrupted activity with us.

Most often these days it's to ask where it is.

As for euphemisms, I've used

bathroom
restroom
privvy (these were for campouts that didn't include running water facilities)

I've said the following

I have to make a pit stop
I have to take a nature break
Hold that thought, I'll be right back (and beeline to the nearest toilet)
Can I be excused? (as a kid, if I wanted to leave the dinner table, I had to ask)
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Offline Cushy Butterfield

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #34 on: August 03, 2018, 02:09:40 am »
Quote from: BoxOfFrogs on July 20, 2018, 11:14:13 am
Quote from: Penguinzrock on July 17, 2018, 07:56:50 pm

In our house, when there is going to be an extended stay, we preface this with "I'm going to retire to the library".

Maybe I'm just an old prude, but why on earth does this need to be "announced" to anyone?

If there is only one bathroom, and someone is going in for an extended stay, it can be polite to let people know so they can take care of less extensive business beforehand. Especially if said people are children or seniors with unpredictable bladders.

My SO has been known to say to me, "If you need to pee, you might want to do it now, because it's about to get scary in there," or some variation on that theme. That's just a him-and-me thing, though. We don't allude to our specific needs in larger company.
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guest70

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #35 on: August 03, 2018, 02:26:55 am »
Quote from: Cushy Butterfield on August 03, 2018, 02:09:40 am
Quote from: BoxOfFrogs on July 20, 2018, 11:14:13 am
Quote from: Penguinzrock on July 17, 2018, 07:56:50 pm

In our house, when there is going to be an extended stay, we preface this with "I'm going to retire to the library".

Maybe I'm just an old prude, but why on earth does this need to be "announced" to anyone?

If there is only one bathroom, and someone is going in for an extended stay, it can be polite to let people know so they can take care of less extensive business beforehand. Especially if said people are children or seniors with unpredictable bladders.

Oh, I agree, that's practical. But I think there are politer ways of doing it than basically announcing "Right, I'm off for a ****". There's just no need to give that information to anyone.
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Offline Thrabalen

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #36 on: August 03, 2018, 06:46:50 pm »
Quote from: Marley on July 18, 2018, 11:33:06 am
What I call it generally depends on where I am. At someone's home I will refer to it as the bathroom. At work, it's the restroom, and at a restaurant I call it the Ladies Room.

For some reason, I really dislike the term "john". Not certain why, though. The one term I find absolutely vulgar and will call out anyone who uses it in my presence is "the shitter".  :-X

I have to be honest, though, that would be my word of choice with that principal up above. "Oh, is bathroom too vague?"

For me, I consider "rest room" awkwardly formal, and so I use bathroom, whether in public or private. If in a conversation with someone *extremely* informally (friend, SO), I might add if I'm going to be a little while, because I consider it polite to let people know you'll be indisposed. With those same friends, though, we have a private euphemism, "Room 14", from a tabletop RPG campaign (it's a long and dry story, but the term is universally understood by us.)
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Offline Lynn2000

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #37 on: August 04, 2018, 12:20:03 am »
Here's a slightly different topic. A few years ago, a friend from a South American country moved into a new-to-her apartment in an old building here in the US. Apparently the toilet plumbing couldn't handle toilet paper being flushed, so she put a sign in her bathroom asking friends to drop the toilet paper in the waste basket instead of flushing it. I guess this is a common thing in her country, where the plumbing is generally bad. Another friend saw the sign and was like, "Um, that's not how it's supposed to be in the US. Ask your landlord to fix the plumbing! People want to flush their TP!"

Through the whole story I was thinking the same thing, and was so glad someone else had told her that first! I was like, "Yeah, I agree with Friend. Have the landlord fix the plumbing." I had never heard of putting TP in a garbage can instead of flushing it before. Obviously if that's common in your country due to plumbing issues, then that's what you have to do to avoid a blockage, but I don't think most people in the US will know about it or be willing to do it.
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Offline Thrabalen

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #38 on: August 04, 2018, 01:43:47 am »
Quote from: Lynn2000 on August 04, 2018, 12:20:03 am
Here's a slightly different topic. A few years ago, a friend from a South American country moved into a new-to-her apartment in an old building here in the US. Apparently the toilet plumbing couldn't handle toilet paper being flushed, so she put a sign in her bathroom asking friends to drop the toilet paper in the waste basket instead of flushing it. I guess this is a common thing in her country, where the plumbing is generally bad. Another friend saw the sign and was like, "Um, that's not how it's supposed to be in the US. Ask your landlord to fix the plumbing! People want to flush their TP!"

Through the whole story I was thinking the same thing, and was so glad someone else had told her that first! I was like, "Yeah, I agree with Friend. Have the landlord fix the plumbing." I had never heard of putting TP in a garbage can instead of flushing it before. Obviously if that's common in your country due to plumbing issues, then that's what you have to do to avoid a blockage, but I don't think most people in the US will know about it or be willing to do it.

This house is old, so the plumbing isn't the best. Consequently, I flush multiple times (at least once before I even clean up after myself), and keep a plunger next to the toilet. What I would not do though is have a wastebasket full of used toilet paper in August. Uh-uh- No way.
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Offline Poesie

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #39 on: August 04, 2018, 02:53:27 am »
Haven’t come across it in Australia. Don’t see plungers in toilets here either IME.

When i travelled through Greece, toilet paper in the wastebasket was the standard almost everywhere, including at a friend’s house (expat Aussie). She explained the pipes they had couldn’t cope with it. Reckoned Greece needed plumbing work as a priority.

It was one of the harder things to get used to.
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Offline Foxglove

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #40 on: August 04, 2018, 10:49:03 am »
"because I consider it polite to let people know you'll be indisposed."

Just out of curiosity, why would this be a matter of politess?   I'm 55 years old and have never told anyone about my bowel movements -- at least since I was toilet trained 52 or 53 years ago.  How does this come up or become an issue? 

Even when staying in homes/cottages/hotel rooms with one toilet, I've never had anyone raise the subject and would be taken aback if they did.  I just don't want that much information about anyone, even a lover.  Especially a lover! 

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Offline Thrabalen

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #41 on: August 04, 2018, 11:28:16 am »
Quote from: Foxglove on August 04, 2018, 10:49:03 am
"because I consider it polite to let people know you'll be indisposed."

Just out of curiosity, why would this be a matter of politess?   I'm 55 years old and have never told anyone about my bowel movements -- at least since I was toilet trained 52 or 53 years ago.  How does this come up or become an issue? 

Even when staying in homes/cottages/hotel rooms with one toilet, I've never had anyone raise the subject and would be taken aback if they did.  I just don't want that much information about anyone, even a lover.  Especially a lover!

Again, bear in mind this is with people I'm very informal with... friends and family. But, if you're having a discussion with someone, there's a difference between "I'll be gone a minute or so" and "I'll need to have a little more time". The politeness is in letting them know how long you'll be. The fact that it's tied to what you're doing is a separate issue, to me.
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Offline VorFemme

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Re: Brother John, Sister Loo and company
« Reply #42 on: August 05, 2018, 11:01:23 am »
VorGuy tells me when he expects to spend a while in the "reading room" or wants a crossword puzzle or two printed off to while away his time in the "reading room".  I don't have to spend nearly as much time in there...although as a teenager I found that it was almost the only place in the house to get any privacy...but that was with my parents & younger siblings in a two bathroom house.  With my bridegroom in a one bathroom house - that was not the room to choose for privacy.

I did announce when I was going in there - but mainly to keep down the amount of time with a small child pounding on the door & asking if I was coming out now...I was so glad once everyone was over six or seven years old.  Only the cat would try to open the door & come in to keep an eye on me after that and for some reason having the cat watch me wasn't nearly as unnerving.
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