Loo. Toilet. An outdoor toilet is a Dunny and an indoor toliet is called a loo.
Dunny can now be used for any toilet. The word comes from British dialect dunnekin meaning an 'earth closet, (outside) privy' from dung + ken 'house'. First recorded in the 1930s but dunnekin is attested in Australian sources from the 1840s.
We call it the 'toilet' or the 'bathroom' in Australia.
Outhouses were in use in cities of developed countries (e.g. Australia) well into the second half of the twentieth century. They are still common in rural areas and also in cities of developing countries.
If you can't quite picture it, thunderbox toilets were essentially a wooden commode which contained a chamber pot. And why was it called thunderbox? Well, think about the sounds made in a bathroom and how that would echo in a wooden box. Very stormy.
They make all the sense in the world - the bidet shooting a stream of water at our private bits to wash them after we relieve ourselves. But, like in the US and UK, bidets aren't commonly used here in Australia.
This room is commonly known as a "bathroom" in American English, a lavatory or loo in the United Kingdom, a "washroom" in Canadian English, and by many other names across the English-speaking world.
Lavatory, loo and toilet will all be understood, which is in many cases the only real desideratum.
Pash (pash) / Kiss
An indelicate description of kissing passionately, hence the name. Pashing typically leads to two things: pash rash (red marks around the lips caused by excessive kissing), and/or rooting (the crass Australian term for the birds and the bees).
Locally, Aussies often use Dunny or, if you're in rural areas, maybe even Thunderbox.
Bogan: Australian slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are unrefined or unsophisticated.
The Victorians encased their baths and basins in wood to make them items of furniture. There were no mixer taps and showers were uncommon and certainly a separate shower enclosure did not exist. A Victorian bathroom was a luxury enjoyed by only the wealthiest and would not be considered to be energy or water efficient!
Know the lingo.
In European countries like France, Germany, and the Netherlands, ask for the “water closet” or the “toilette.” In Australia, it's called a “dunny.” In the U.K., look for the “loo.” And in Japan, find the “ben-jo.”
Bog roll. Taken from the 16th-century Scottish/Irish word meaning 'soft and moist,' bog means restroom or lavatory. Bog roll, naturally, is an idiom for toilet paper.
"The jacks"
If you arrive in Ireland and ask someone for the restroom, it is social suicide. It's either called "the toilet," or even more commonly "the jacks."
Despite its British popularity for a slightly less crude way to call the toilet, the word “loo” is actually derived from the French phrase 'guardez l'eau', meaning 'watch out for the water”.
There are few reasons why most Australians do not use a bidet in their bathroom. The first reason is their geographic location. Australia does not get a lot of rainy days so water preservation is a must for everyone and so using a bidet could be seen as wasteful in times of drought.
They make all the sense in the world - the bidet shooting a stream of water at our private bits to wash them after we relieve ourselves. But, like in the US and UK, bidets aren't commonly used here in Australia. We've never developed a culture of using them, instead opting for multi-ply toilet paper instead.
Many residents believe bidets are illegal in Australia. This is partly because their usage is still quite rare among Australians. In reality, bidets are very much legal in the country, and their usage is highly encouraged during these trying times of COVID-19, where toilet paper is a scarce resource.
An old Tudor phrase for lavatory, jacks is a term more commonly used in Ireland. This is likely a reference to Jack Power, who invented the first multiple cubicle toilet. However, he never liked his name being associated with sanitation so he changed it by deed poll.
Thunderbox, a slang word for a portable toilet.
Portable Toilets Have Many Different Names
Porta-potty. Porta-john.
The toilet has two buttons on the cistern rather than the single-flush one; one button delivers a lesser amount of water (eg. 3 litres) and the other a greater amount (eg. 6 litres). It also uses a larger 10 cm trapway in the bowl, allowing for water to come out faster and clear the bowl efficiently.