This evening a few of us went out to eat. As we walked in the front door the hostess smiled at us, escorting us to a booth that would accommodate our party’s size.
“Excuse me,” I said to her as she was seating us, “which way to the restrooms?”
She looked at me very confused. But, being sure they had some, I deduced what we had was a language barrier.
So, I tried again with a different term. And, briefer. “Bathroom?”
Again, she shook her head indicating she had no clue what I was saying.
Never to be discouraged, and with an audience of many patrons, I said in a baby voice: “Pee pee?”
She instantly smiled, holding back a laugh, and pointed down a hallway. That, she understood.
Did you mean “which way to the rest rooms�
I tend have those sorts conversations with people who speak exactly the same language as me. I manage to pick words whereby a subtle mis-hearing will result in total non-comprehension, eliciting a response that I, in turn, don’t understand at all. Sometimes we resolve things (good save with the “pee pee” there!) and sometimes we agree to abandon the conversation and just start again!
Andrew, you’re correct — I had a typo (the original post said ‘which was’ instead of ‘which way’), it’s fixed. Thanks for the catch.
Why cant Americans call it for what it is?
A “rest room” = a room to have a rest in??? and a “bathroom” ?? you want to take a bath?
Its called a toilet people!
Anonymous — for the same reason that we drive on the parkway and park on the driveway