Debussy as term for bathroom?Term for dedicating a bookTerm for check-in locationTechnical term for...
What is the origin of the “clerics can create water” trope?
What's the purpose of autocorrelation?
How to find the positive integer solution?
Compare FEM mesh with the mesh created within Mathematica
What do you call the battery slot's ends?
Output Distinct Factor Cuboids
Should I inform my future product owner that there is a good chance that a team member will leave the company soon?
merging certain list elements
Problem of Induction: Dissolved
Can I separate garlic into cloves for storage?
Who are the people reviewing far more papers than they're submitting for review?
removing rows containing NA in every column
Paths Short or Long
Plot irregular circle in latex
Why does Canada require a minimum rate of climb for ultralights of 300 ft/min?
What is the maximum viable speed for a projectile within earth's atmosphere?
Other than good shoes and a stick, what are some ways to preserve your knees on long hikes?
My passport was stamped with an exit stamp while transiting to another Schengen country via Turkey. Was this a mistake?
EU compensation - fire alarm at the Flight Crew's hotel
Why would a fighter use the afterburner and air brakes at the same time?
Do household ovens ventilate heat to the outdoors?
How do you determine which representation of a function to use for Newton's method?
(How long) Should I indulge my new co-workers?
Account creation and log-in system
Debussy as term for bathroom?
Term for dedicating a bookTerm for check-in locationTechnical term for “cityglow”A generic term for both books and movies?Is there a term for the continuance of the later editions of a book?Term for women's studies personWhat is the term for a marginal letter in a printed book?
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}
In Michael Bishop's SF book Transfigurations (1979), the author (in the course of the narration by the main character) refers in several instances to one or another "debussy", by which he evidently means a bathroom (i.e. a loo/WC/toilet/washroom, depending on your local usage).
I've never encountered this elsewhere and searching has turned up nothing. Is this an invented usage of the author's, or is there some precedent somewhere?
nouns books
asked 8 hours ago
Jacob C.Jacob C.
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
add a comment
|
In Michael Bishop's SF book Transfigurations (1979), the author (in the course of the narration by the main character) refers in several instances to one or another "debussy", by which he evidently means a bathroom (i.e. a loo/WC/toilet/washroom, depending on your local usage).
I've never encountered this elsewhere and searching has turned up nothing. Is this an invented usage of the author's, or is there some precedent somewhere?
nouns books
asked 8 hours ago
Jacob C.Jacob C.
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
2
I'll thank users for refraining from edits that change the meaning of the question (and from editorializing on which country has a more "absurd" term). In the book, it referred to an indoor room that included a shower stall. Not, say, an outdoor trench.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
add a comment
|
In Michael Bishop's SF book Transfigurations (1979), the author (in the course of the narration by the main character) refers in several instances to one or another "debussy", by which he evidently means a bathroom (i.e. a loo/WC/toilet/washroom, depending on your local usage).
I've never encountered this elsewhere and searching has turned up nothing. Is this an invented usage of the author's, or is there some precedent somewhere?
nouns books
asked 8 hours ago
Jacob C.Jacob C.
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
In Michael Bishop's SF book Transfigurations (1979), the author (in the course of the narration by the main character) refers in several instances to one or another "debussy", by which he evidently means a bathroom (i.e. a loo/WC/toilet/washroom, depending on your local usage).
I've never encountered this elsewhere and searching has turned up nothing. Is this an invented usage of the author's, or is there some precedent somewhere?
nouns books
nouns books
asked 8 hours ago
Jacob C.Jacob C.
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
asked 8 hours ago
Jacob C.Jacob C.
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
edited 8 hours ago
Jacob C.
asked 8 hours ago
Jacob C.Jacob C.
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
asked 8 hours ago
Jacob C.Jacob C.
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
asked 8 hours ago
Jacob C.Jacob C.
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
2031 silver badge7 bronze badges
2
I'll thank users for refraining from edits that change the meaning of the question (and from editorializing on which country has a more "absurd" term). In the book, it referred to an indoor room that included a shower stall. Not, say, an outdoor trench.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
add a comment
|
2
I'll thank users for refraining from edits that change the meaning of the question (and from editorializing on which country has a more "absurd" term). In the book, it referred to an indoor room that included a shower stall. Not, say, an outdoor trench.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
2
2
I'll thank users for refraining from edits that change the meaning of the question (and from editorializing on which country has a more "absurd" term). In the book, it referred to an indoor room that included a shower stall. Not, say, an outdoor trench.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
I'll thank users for refraining from edits that change the meaning of the question (and from editorializing on which country has a more "absurd" term). In the book, it referred to an indoor room that included a shower stall. Not, say, an outdoor trench.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
add a comment
|
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
"Debussy" is a phonetic representation of pronouncing "WC," not to be mistaken for the classical composer Claude Debussy. Basically, the author's employing an eye dialect to show how the character pronounces--or mispronounces--the letter W (double u) in WC.
answered 8 hours ago
NancyNancy
2979 bronze badges
New contributor
Nancy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
Right. No WCs in 'Murica. No loos, neither. They's bathrooms.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
2
President Bush had a Dubya C in the Oval Office . . . I deleted my original comment . . . couldn't keep the MAGA hat on my head while typing it.
– David M
8 hours ago
2
Yes, he did. Though Clinton took all the dubyas off all the computers as a prank before he left. So there weren't as many dubyas as we might think. Just the big one in the leather chair in the oval room.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
1
Huh, that must essentially be it. I hadn't thought of that, perhaps because there were no other examples of the narrator doing that to a word in the entire book, as far as I recall. Except that given the setting, perhaps the author meant to indicate that by the story's point in the future, that phonetic rendering had become the accepted spelling.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
1
I'm pretty sure I've seen the usage at least once, probably 30-40 years ago. It's unlikely that I saw it in the referenced book, as I read very little sci-fi.
– Hot Licks
8 hours ago
add a comment
|
no idea how this could be phonetically similar. How does everyone get this? I can't make it work in French, German or English...
answered 5 hours ago
user2305193user2305193
1074 bronze badges
You don't understand how "dubya see" could morph into "Debussy"??
– Hot Licks
5 hours ago
1
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review
– KillingTime
1 hour ago
add a comment
|
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"u003ecc by-sa 4.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f512798%2fdebussy-as-term-for-bathroom%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
"Debussy" is a phonetic representation of pronouncing "WC," not to be mistaken for the classical composer Claude Debussy. Basically, the author's employing an eye dialect to show how the character pronounces--or mispronounces--the letter W (double u) in WC.
answered 8 hours ago
NancyNancy
2979 bronze badges
New contributor
Nancy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
Right. No WCs in 'Murica. No loos, neither. They's bathrooms.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
2
President Bush had a Dubya C in the Oval Office . . . I deleted my original comment . . . couldn't keep the MAGA hat on my head while typing it.
– David M
8 hours ago
2
Yes, he did. Though Clinton took all the dubyas off all the computers as a prank before he left. So there weren't as many dubyas as we might think. Just the big one in the leather chair in the oval room.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
1
Huh, that must essentially be it. I hadn't thought of that, perhaps because there were no other examples of the narrator doing that to a word in the entire book, as far as I recall. Except that given the setting, perhaps the author meant to indicate that by the story's point in the future, that phonetic rendering had become the accepted spelling.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
1
I'm pretty sure I've seen the usage at least once, probably 30-40 years ago. It's unlikely that I saw it in the referenced book, as I read very little sci-fi.
– Hot Licks
8 hours ago
add a comment
|
"Debussy" is a phonetic representation of pronouncing "WC," not to be mistaken for the classical composer Claude Debussy. Basically, the author's employing an eye dialect to show how the character pronounces--or mispronounces--the letter W (double u) in WC.
answered 8 hours ago
NancyNancy
2979 bronze badges
New contributor
Nancy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
Right. No WCs in 'Murica. No loos, neither. They's bathrooms.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
2
President Bush had a Dubya C in the Oval Office . . . I deleted my original comment . . . couldn't keep the MAGA hat on my head while typing it.
– David M
8 hours ago
2
Yes, he did. Though Clinton took all the dubyas off all the computers as a prank before he left. So there weren't as many dubyas as we might think. Just the big one in the leather chair in the oval room.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
1
Huh, that must essentially be it. I hadn't thought of that, perhaps because there were no other examples of the narrator doing that to a word in the entire book, as far as I recall. Except that given the setting, perhaps the author meant to indicate that by the story's point in the future, that phonetic rendering had become the accepted spelling.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
1
I'm pretty sure I've seen the usage at least once, probably 30-40 years ago. It's unlikely that I saw it in the referenced book, as I read very little sci-fi.
– Hot Licks
8 hours ago
add a comment
|
"Debussy" is a phonetic representation of pronouncing "WC," not to be mistaken for the classical composer Claude Debussy. Basically, the author's employing an eye dialect to show how the character pronounces--or mispronounces--the letter W (double u) in WC.
answered 8 hours ago
NancyNancy
2979 bronze badges
New contributor
Nancy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
"Debussy" is a phonetic representation of pronouncing "WC," not to be mistaken for the classical composer Claude Debussy. Basically, the author's employing an eye dialect to show how the character pronounces--or mispronounces--the letter W (double u) in WC.
answered 8 hours ago
NancyNancy
2979 bronze badges
New contributor
Nancy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 8 hours ago
answered 8 hours ago
NancyNancy
2979 bronze badges
New contributor
Nancy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 8 hours ago
NancyNancy
2979 bronze badges
answered 8 hours ago
NancyNancy
2979 bronze badges
2979 bronze badges
New contributor
Nancy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Nancy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
Right. No WCs in 'Murica. No loos, neither. They's bathrooms.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
2
President Bush had a Dubya C in the Oval Office . . . I deleted my original comment . . . couldn't keep the MAGA hat on my head while typing it.
– David M
8 hours ago
2
Yes, he did. Though Clinton took all the dubyas off all the computers as a prank before he left. So there weren't as many dubyas as we might think. Just the big one in the leather chair in the oval room.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
1
Huh, that must essentially be it. I hadn't thought of that, perhaps because there were no other examples of the narrator doing that to a word in the entire book, as far as I recall. Except that given the setting, perhaps the author meant to indicate that by the story's point in the future, that phonetic rendering had become the accepted spelling.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
1
I'm pretty sure I've seen the usage at least once, probably 30-40 years ago. It's unlikely that I saw it in the referenced book, as I read very little sci-fi.
– Hot Licks
8 hours ago
add a comment
|
3
Right. No WCs in 'Murica. No loos, neither. They's bathrooms.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
2
President Bush had a Dubya C in the Oval Office . . . I deleted my original comment . . . couldn't keep the MAGA hat on my head while typing it.
– David M
8 hours ago
2
Yes, he did. Though Clinton took all the dubyas off all the computers as a prank before he left. So there weren't as many dubyas as we might think. Just the big one in the leather chair in the oval room.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
1
Huh, that must essentially be it. I hadn't thought of that, perhaps because there were no other examples of the narrator doing that to a word in the entire book, as far as I recall. Except that given the setting, perhaps the author meant to indicate that by the story's point in the future, that phonetic rendering had become the accepted spelling.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
1
I'm pretty sure I've seen the usage at least once, probably 30-40 years ago. It's unlikely that I saw it in the referenced book, as I read very little sci-fi.
– Hot Licks
8 hours ago
3
3
Right. No WCs in 'Murica. No loos, neither. They's bathrooms.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
Right. No WCs in 'Murica. No loos, neither. They's bathrooms.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
2
2
President Bush had a Dubya C in the Oval Office . . . I deleted my original comment . . . couldn't keep the MAGA hat on my head while typing it.
– David M
8 hours ago
President Bush had a Dubya C in the Oval Office . . . I deleted my original comment . . . couldn't keep the MAGA hat on my head while typing it.
– David M
8 hours ago
2
2
Yes, he did. Though Clinton took all the dubyas off all the computers as a prank before he left. So there weren't as many dubyas as we might think. Just the big one in the leather chair in the oval room.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
Yes, he did. Though Clinton took all the dubyas off all the computers as a prank before he left. So there weren't as many dubyas as we might think. Just the big one in the leather chair in the oval room.
– Nancy
8 hours ago
1
1
Huh, that must essentially be it. I hadn't thought of that, perhaps because there were no other examples of the narrator doing that to a word in the entire book, as far as I recall. Except that given the setting, perhaps the author meant to indicate that by the story's point in the future, that phonetic rendering had become the accepted spelling.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
Huh, that must essentially be it. I hadn't thought of that, perhaps because there were no other examples of the narrator doing that to a word in the entire book, as far as I recall. Except that given the setting, perhaps the author meant to indicate that by the story's point in the future, that phonetic rendering had become the accepted spelling.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago
1
1
I'm pretty sure I've seen the usage at least once, probably 30-40 years ago. It's unlikely that I saw it in the referenced book, as I read very little sci-fi.
– Hot Licks
8 hours ago
I'm pretty sure I've seen the usage at least once, probably 30-40 years ago. It's unlikely that I saw it in the referenced book, as I read very little sci-fi.
– Hot Licks
8 hours ago
add a comment
|
no idea how this could be phonetically similar. How does everyone get this? I can't make it work in French, German or English...
answered 5 hours ago
user2305193user2305193
1074 bronze badges
You don't understand how "dubya see" could morph into "Debussy"??
– Hot Licks
5 hours ago
1
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review
– KillingTime
1 hour ago
add a comment
|
no idea how this could be phonetically similar. How does everyone get this? I can't make it work in French, German or English...
answered 5 hours ago
user2305193user2305193
1074 bronze badges
You don't understand how "dubya see" could morph into "Debussy"??
– Hot Licks
5 hours ago
1
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review
– KillingTime
1 hour ago
add a comment
|
no idea how this could be phonetically similar. How does everyone get this? I can't make it work in French, German or English...
answered 5 hours ago
user2305193user2305193
1074 bronze badges
no idea how this could be phonetically similar. How does everyone get this? I can't make it work in French, German or English...
answered 5 hours ago
user2305193user2305193
1074 bronze badges
answered 5 hours ago
user2305193user2305193
1074 bronze badges
answered 5 hours ago
user2305193user2305193
1074 bronze badges
answered 5 hours ago
user2305193user2305193
1074 bronze badges
1074 bronze badges
You don't understand how "dubya see" could morph into "Debussy"??
– Hot Licks
5 hours ago
1
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review
– KillingTime
1 hour ago
add a comment
|
You don't understand how "dubya see" could morph into "Debussy"??
– Hot Licks
5 hours ago
1
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review
– KillingTime
1 hour ago
You don't understand how "dubya see" could morph into "Debussy"??
– Hot Licks
5 hours ago
You don't understand how "dubya see" could morph into "Debussy"??
– Hot Licks
5 hours ago
1
1
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review
– KillingTime
1 hour ago
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review
– KillingTime
1 hour ago
add a comment
|
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f512798%2fdebussy-as-term-for-bathroom%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
2
I'll thank users for refraining from edits that change the meaning of the question (and from editorializing on which country has a more "absurd" term). In the book, it referred to an indoor room that included a shower stall. Not, say, an outdoor trench.
– Jacob C.
8 hours ago