The most common British nickname for the toilet is "the loo". It is an informal, widely used, and polite term. Other, more colloquial or slang terms often used in the UK include "the bog," "the khazi" (or "casi"), or "the privy".
Loo is an informal yet polite British term for toilet. The word “loo” has interesting origins and can be traced back to Medieval Europe, when chamber pots had to be emptied from bedroom windows onto the street below.
Bog. The slang word bog first appeared in the late eighteenth century, originally as “boghouse.” It most likely evolved from earlier British slang linked to defecation. Although informal, bog remains one of the most commonly used casual alternatives to toilets in the UK.
Loo. Despite being a very British word for toilet, 'loo' is actually derived from the French phrase 'guardez l'eau', which means 'watch out for the water'.
Fun fact: Some other terms for the toilet include: washroom, outhouse, powder room, ladies, lavatory, potty, women's room, bog, necessary, dunny, bathroom, gents, men's room, khazi, convenience, garderobe, restroom, place of easement, privy, john, potty, water closet, the smallest room, can, little girls' or boys' room ...
TOILET ENGLISH: Where is the toilet? Bathroom? Washroom? Loo? Lavatory? WC? 🚽 💩 🧻
What is the cockney slang for toilet?
Common Cockney slang for toilet includes "khazi" (or "carsey," "karzy," "kharsie"), derived from Italian "casa" (house), and rhyming slang like "Ronson Lighter" for "shiter" (toilet), or simply "bog," while "cottage" means a public toilet. Other terms like "loo" or "spend a penny" are also used in British slang.
Fancy words for toilet include lavatory, water closet (WC), convenience, restroom, and powder room, while more formal or archaic terms are privy, latrine, or commode, with regional favorites like loo (UK) or comfort room (Philippines).
Vocabulary is as important as accent. Since the writer Nancy Mitford codified the U and non-U (upper class and non-upper class) terms in the 1950s, it has been taken as fact that upper classes use loos, sofas and napkins while their social inferiors prefer toilets, settees and serviettes.
"Skibidi Toilet" slang comes from a viral YouTube series featuring singing heads in toilets, and it's a nonsensical term used by Gen Alpha to mean anything from "cool" to "bad," express confusion ("What in the skibidi?"), or describe something absurd or weird, often with no specific meaning other than it's a catchy, nonsensical phrase from the meme. It functions as a versatile, context-dependent word that can describe a person, situation, or just be random gibberish.
Fixture. A device for receiving water and/or waste matter that directs these substances into a sanitary drainage system. Examples include toilets, sinks, bathtubs, shower receptors, and water closet bowls. The term is used erroneously in common vernacular to describe fittings.
The most common British word for the room with a toilet is the loo, but they also use toilet, lavatory, WC (Water Closet), or simply the gents/ladies for public facilities, while bathroom usually implies it has a bath or shower too, not just a toilet.
Common Cockney slang for toilet includes "khazi" (or "carsey," "karzy," "kharsie"), derived from Italian "casa" (house), and rhyming slang like "Ronson Lighter" for "shiter" (toilet), or simply "bog," while "cottage" means a public toilet. Other terms like "loo" or "spend a penny" are also used in British slang.
Head (ship's toilet) The use of the term "head" to refer to a ship's toilet dates to at least as early as 1708, when Woodes Rogers (English privateer and Governor of the Bahamas) used the word in his book, A Cruising Voyage Around the World.
Loo or dunny - Thesea are slang term for toilet. If you are a guest in someone's house for the first time, it is usually polite to ask permission to use his or her toilet. 'May I use your toilet please?' Some people ask, 'Where's the loo?'
The British Royal Family avoids the word "toilet," preferring "loo" or "lavatory," often due to the word's French origins, with "lavatory" being more formal and "loo" common in general conversation, while older terms like "close stool" were used historically for portable commodes. They also use other refined terms like "scent" for perfume and "helping" for food portions, avoiding more common, "working-class" words.
Toilet. This was on the original 1950s list and, to be honest, I'd rather chew glass than use the word toilet in polite conversation. It's a harsh word that was adapted from the French toilette which means your appearance, hence toiletries bag. Lavatory or loo is much more acceptable.
This room is commonly known as a "bathroom" in American English, a "toilet", "WC", "lavatory", "loo" or “bathroom” in the United Kingdom and Ireland , a "washroom" in Canadian English, and by many other names across the English-speaking world.
The term "latrine" is still commonly used in military parlance, and less so in civilian usage except in emergency sanitation situations. Nowadays, the word "toilet" is more commonly used than "latrine", except when referring to simple systems like "pit latrines" or "trench latrines".
