From A Different Angle

I’ve caught a flu over Christmas and new year so I haven’t really been out shooting. Gotta write something though, so I’m going to go in a somewhat different direction.
The other day my better half was telling me about this book she was reading, called “A guide through the American status system” by Paul Fussell, which describes how the (lower) middle class in the US has started using different words for everyday things to make them sound more sophisticated.
And indeed, annoying as it is, I (or rather we) started paying attention to it even when looking to American shows on the TV.
And really… Now that I think back to my stay in the US last summer, I remember that I did get a couple of funny looks when I asked if someone could show me the toilet.
Because oh my god! You don’t call it a toilet! It’s a powder room! Or a men’s room or a rest room.
Excuse me? Can you show me where the powder room is? I gotta take a piss! 😀

And when my better half was talking about a home maker (we were watching this interior design show) I seriously thought she was talking about the interior designer, but no! A home maker is a fancy word for house wife.
For god’s sake!
And would you please proceed to the formal dining room where we will have dinner. Because we’re not eating at the kitchen table.

And there’s a whole stack of other examples. Butler’s pantry, atrium, galleria, master suite, etc. etc.

Now… If you’ll excuse me…
I have to go to the powder room, because I nearly wet myself.