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I once had a teaching job around 100 miles away from where I lived. I taught two days in a row so it made sense to stay overnight. Rather than rent a room I hid out overnight in an windowless store room. Personal hygiene was the first victim, but as I was teaching a smelly subject (painting) no one seemed to notice.



You normally don't start to smell from one skipped shower if you bring clean cloths (mainly underwear) and can spritz some water in your face in toilets. Having Shorter hair and brushing your teeth at say the toilet sink would help as well.


> can spritz some water in your face in toilets

I personally prefer spritzing my face with a faucet instead of a toilet.


English as a first vs second language in action! Also, much of the European world refers to a "powder room" as a toilet, which generally might only include the toilet bowl as well as a small sink for handwashing.


Toilet like many words has several definitions. 2. A room or booth containing such an apparatus. 3. The act or process of dressing or grooming oneself.

Key hint to definition was: 'toilet sink' See also: Eau de toilette


"Powder room" doesn't always need a toilet, but they usually do. The essential hardware of a "powder room" is some kind of mirror and a sink. They were the spaces for guests to get cleaned up and get their makeup and wigs right. These days its pretty much a synonym for a half-bath, but a half-bath always has a toilet.


Guily as charged - I should have payed more attention to my wording.


Which European language has this expression?


Danish, Dutch: toilet, Estonian: tualett, Finnish: toiletti, French: toilette, German: Toilette, Greek: τουαλέτα, Hungarian: toalett, Italian: toilette, Latvian: tualete, Lithuanian: tualetas, Maltese: toilet, Norwegian: toalett, Polish: toaleta, Portuguese: tolaete, Romanian: toaletă, Russian and basically every other Slavic language: туалет, Swedish: toalett, Turkish: tuvalet, Welsh: toiled

assuming Wiktionary can be trusted on all of these

Honourable mention to the incomparable Scots language for "cludgie"!


> Also, much of the European world refers to a "powder room" as a toilet

OK, now I get it that I misunderstood the comment! I thought that "powder room" was supposed to be a word in Europe.

Toilet and its variants - of course.

Thanks!

BTW for French it will be the plural "toilettes", the singular form means "the action of washing yourself"


British English.


The comment mentioned "much of the European world" :)


Or water closet (WC)




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