The ABC

Toilet - bathroom or loo?

It is simple, in England toilet is called "loo" in the popular language. Once I had a friend and her nickname was Lou but, I am quite sure this is something else. In America we simple say: "I have to go to the bathroom" it is a simple sentence and everyone knows exactly what you are talking about, however, in the land of Harry Potter going to the bathroom can become quite a tough quest.

Scene1 (English gentleman in New York)

-Hi, my name is William, may I go to the loo?

-Sure, third table on the left

Table?

Scene2 (American man learning British slang)

-Hi, I am John, can I go to the ..err..Loue?

-Yeah, certainly, third table on the left

Table?

Either ways, loo is a funny name for bathroom. But, if you look at it, bath (to wash yourself) room (a place in the house) means, literally, a place where you wash. In the UK , (though taking a shower is not specifically a very popular thing) they call it toilet.

So, just to prevent you from getting lost (because I am almost there)

In England it is said: Toilet and loo

In the US it is said bathroom or restroom

Why do the call it loo?

It is uncertain but some say the reason that the reason that the English "loo" is so named because the toilet was commonly located in room 100 of buildings and the two ("loo" and "100") look very much the same. 

The second theory is that, long ago, when people flung their potty waste out of the window, they would shout "Gardez l'eau" [gar-day low]. That's French for "watch out for the water". We probably get the word "loo" from this expression

Though I prefer the second theory for its more romantic content there are even other stories and you can check it out following this link: Why do they call it loo?

So, if you happen to be in Britain - have a nice loo!