Nico's blog

Where does the term "Loo" come from?

The other day, I was checking what's the difference between "bathroom / restroom" was, like a gentleman, when I stumbled upon this page.

Towards the end, it explains what a "Loo" is, and where it comes from:

In French towns, they had the reprehensible and nauseating habit of emptying
their chamber pots out of the house windows while shouting guardez l’eau
(pronounced gardyloo). This means “watch out for the water.” 

British soldiers witnessed this phenomenon during World War I. They then brought
the shortened version of the term, loo, back to Britain.

I think the original French was more "gare à l'eau", which is confirmed by Wordnik.

So next time I'm in the UK, and I'm asking "where's the loo?", I'll have the background ;)

Tags: Misc