No. The word just doesn’t mean the same thing in American English as it does in British English.
As I understand it, in British English, the room you use to urinate and defecate is called the toilet. In America, the room is called the “bathroom” or the “restroom” or the “lavatory.” (Or the “men’s room” or the “ladies’ room” in a public building.) The “toilet” is the porcelain fixture you sit on.
If I am in a restaurant and I tell my dinner companions that I am going to the restroom, I probably won’t use the toilet. I will use the urinal and the sink. (And maybe just the sink.) But not the toilet. It would be incorrect to say “I am going to the toilet.”
Americans have no qualms about using the word toilet if it is the right word.
- “I want to replace my toilet with one that uses less water.”
- “I was sitting on the toilet when I heard the phone ring in the other room.”
- “When you go shopping, pick up some toilet cleaner.”
But if you tell an American “Jerry is in the toilet,” they won’t think he has gone to the bathroom and will be back shortly. They will think that something has gone terribly wrong for Jerry.
What’s Your Thoughts On This?
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