I’m from non-english speaking country but we use “WC” for toilet and I just found out the meaning behind it
Thats why colloquially we call toilets “vécé” in hungarian which is basically VC(wc) pronounced as a word.
same in croatian
Strangely enough, same in french.
Same in Swedish.
There’s a old joke about this from Jack Parr, told on the Tonight Show:
An English lady, while visiting Germany, was looking for a room to rent. She found a suitable one owned by a local schoolmaster. After returning home, she remembered she hadn’t seen a “W.C.” (water closet/bathroom) on the property. She wrote a letter to the schoolmaster asking where the W.C. was located.
The schoolmaster, not knowing much English, was puzzled by the initials “W.C.” He took the letter to the parish priest, and together they concluded that the lady must be asking about the local Wayside Chapel.
The schoolmaster wrote the following reply:
Dear Madam,
I take great pleasure in informing you that the W.C. is situated nine miles from the house, in the center of a beautiful grove of pine trees. It is capable of holding 250 people and is open to the public on Sundays and Thursdays.
As a large crowd is expected during the summer months, I advise you to arrive early. This may prove an unfortunate inconvenience to you if you are in the habit of going regularly. Rest assured, however, that there is plenty of standing room.
Many people bring their lunch and make a day of it, while others arrive at the last minute and can only find standing room. A special feature is the organ music, which accompanies all proceedings. The acoustics are excellent, and even the most delicate sounds can be heard by everyone.
It may also interest you to know that my daughter was married in the W.C., as it was there that she met her husband. I can still remember the rush for seats. There were ten people in every seat that day!
My wife is very delicate, so she cannot go regularly. It has been over six months since she last went, which is naturally a great trial for her.
I shall be delighted to reserve the best seat for you, where you can be seen by everyone.
Yours faithfully,
The Schoolmaster
We use the abbreviation WC in german as well though. And chapel is Kapelle in german, so K not C. Also, according to wikipedia, the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayside_Chapel is located in australia. (In the joke it also sounds like a huge chapel. Most chapels can only hold like 5 persons.)
We use the abbreviation WC in german as well though.
Yes, but has that always been the case? The joke might be old enough that this may not have been true in the time it is set in.
This always confused the hell out of me in Mexico.
In India, WC is the Western Commode, as opposed to the Indian Commode (squat toilet)
The more you drink the more double-you see
Another word for toilet is john, which is also a presidential middle name.
I refer to my father as “John, like the toilet”
My headcanon is that the former president called himself Bill to avoid the WC initials.
Pronounced like “vayssay” in French because the English double-U is actually a double-V.
Toilet paper can be referred to as “PQ,” for “papier cul” (translation of “ass paper”).
If you look at W its clearly VV and not UU. Silly English
I love how the French casually use so many “dirty” words in everyday speech without batting an eye.
We’re so prudish over here.
It’s funny, because head up to French Canada and all the curses are religious. Tabernac! Calisse!
That is hilarious! I’ve been learning French, but not Canadian French. Maybe I should give it a shot.
Same in Swedish. Not all, but a lot.
French Canadians are a special lot, they’ve perfected the snark
And ‘crapper’ is from Thomas Crapper, who was one lauded as the inventor of the toilet, but that is s bit overblown.
Still the name stuck
That one isn’t actually true. https://www.etymonline.com/word/crapper
