They would use words like “loo” and “napkin” rather than “toilet” or “serviette”.
This distinction between the (old, and not necessarily wealthy) upper class and others demonstrates how totally detached American usage is from this. Americans say toilet (among other words), but loo is rare here; but on the other hand, napkin is the only American word for it. I cannot imagine an American saying serviette, and if one did, it would be laughed at, in the unlikely event that anyone listening even knew what the word referred to; and it would be perceived, not as lower-class, but as unbearably pretentious, probably because it sounds French.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
andrewducker) wrote2021-08-23 12:00 pm
no subject
This distinction between the (old, and not necessarily wealthy) upper class and others demonstrates how totally detached American usage is from this. Americans say toilet (among other words), but loo is rare here; but on the other hand, napkin is the only American word for it. I cannot imagine an American saying serviette, and if one did, it would be laughed at, in the unlikely event that anyone listening even knew what the word referred to; and it would be perceived, not as lower-class, but as unbearably pretentious, probably because it sounds French.
no subject