Closets and Wardrobes and toilets and vests and things....

[Steve]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>
> 
> ... 
> 
> Carol again:
> Sorry to be unclear. I meant, don't boys and young men in the
> UK wear the sleeveless "wifebeater"-type shirts ...? ...
>

bboyminn:

Onslow (Geoffrey Hughes), the unkempt lay-about brother-in-
law in the BBC TV show 'Keeping Up Appearances' was always
perpetually in a wife beaters 'vest', much to Hyancith's
horror.

While not re-enforcing the 'wife beater' aspect, it certainly
confirms the underclass unsavory lay-about aspect. 

Though I must admit the classic 'wife beater' looks much better
on someone who is young and fit than it does on your typical
overweight redneck.



>....
> 
> Carol:
> The description of the room in the books also sounds to me 
> like what you would call a "toilet" rather than a "bathroom."
> After all, Myrtle plunges into a toilet in the American sense,
> not a bathtub or shower.
>
> Very odd that JKR would use that word in that sense. The 
> prefects' bathroom has a gigantic tub, not stalls with toilets,
> IIRC. Or does it have both? And what about the boys' "bathroom"
> that Draco is crying in in HBP? Is that "bathroom" in the UK 
> edition as well?
> 
> Carol, ...


bboyminn:

Well, we do know that people take baths and showers as there
are a couple of brief side mentions of a character doing so,
but we never clearly see rooms for bathing anywhere in the 
series with the exception of the Prefects Bath.

One would think that the dormitory towers would have both
toilet and bath facilities in the dorm tower. Sort of like
a communal locker room. Notice that students aren't generally
allowed out of the Dorms after 9 o'clock. What if you have
to 'go' or need a shower after 9? 

Now one could speculate that the 'bathrooms' are like locker
rooms. They have, in one area, toilet and sink facilities, and
in another area bath and/or shower facilities. In Draco's case,
while he was in the 'bath room', he was in the toilet area of 
that bathroom. In the army, we had an old saying about our 
daily routine that consisted of three 'S's which I will restate
in more polite terms-- 'relieve yourself', shave, and a shower.
My point being that in a space were a great number of people 
are living, a 'bathroom' is likely to have facilities to
accommodate all three 'S's. 

Still, it seems odd that there is no mention of such a 
facility in the actual dormitory area. It would seem odd that
students would have to go out of the dorms and roam the halls
to get to a 'bath' facility. 

And, as a side note, to maintain public politeness and dignity,
the general public toilet facilities are usually referred to
as the 'men's room' and the 'lady's room'. While that is 
certainly not universally descriptive, here it is pretty much
universally understood. 

For what it's worth.

Steve/bboymin