--- title: Soft words for hard things: the toilet and bodily functions — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Soft words for hard things: the toilet and bodily functions», a lesson of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Almost every language has soft words for the toilet, because people feel shy about saying what they are goi --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/) / Soft words for hard things: the toilet… # Soft words for hard things: the toilet and bodily functions Lesson 6 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school: 22 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/0/) — Almost every language has soft words for the toilet, because people feel shy about saying what they are going to do there. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/1/) — Some soft words name a different room or job, like "bathroom" (even with no bath) or "wash my hands" (you will wash them, but that is not why you went). - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/2/) — Others are jokes that make it less awkward, like calling the toilet "the throne" or saying you must "see a man about a dog". - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/3/) — Vivid example: at a fancy dinner a guest says "Excuse me, I must powder my nose" — nobody thinks she only wants make-up; everyone knows she is off to the toilet. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/5/) — "Restroom" means a public toilet, mostly in the US; nobody goes there to rest. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/6/) — "Bathroom" in American English means a toilet, even one with no bath in it. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/7/) — "Powder room" means a small toilet for guests in a house, mostly in the US. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/8/) — "The little boys' room" is a joking way to say the men's toilet. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/9/) — "The little girls' room" is a joking way to say the women's toilet. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/10/) — "Spend a penny" is an old British way to say use the toilet; public toilets once cost a penny. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/11/) — "Answer the call of nature" is a joking way to say go to the toilet. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/12/) — "Freshen up" usually means go to the toilet and wash, often before a meal or meeting. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/13/) — "I'll just wash my hands" is a polite way to say I am going to use the toilet. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/14/) — "Powder my nose" is an old-fashioned way, used by women, to say go to the toilet. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/15/) — "See a man about a dog" is a joking excuse to leave the room, usually to go to the toilet; there is no man and no dog. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/16/) — "Number one" means a wee, urinating; children and parents use it. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/17/) — "Number two" means a poo, emptying the bowels; children and parents use it. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/18/) — "The loo" is the everyday British word for the toilet. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/19/) — "The john" is American slang for the toilet. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/20/) — "The facilities" is a polite word for the toilet, as in "Where are the facilities?" - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/21/) — "Comfort station" is an official American word for a public toilet, for example in a park. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/6-toilet-words/22/) — "The dunny" is Australian slang for the toilet, often one outdoors. - ← previous: [Soft words for hard things: illness, disability and the body](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/5-drink-mind-and-body/) - next →: [Soft words for hard things: the toilet and bodily functions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/7-wind-sick-and-runs/) - ↑ back to [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/)