Hi, the information Barb_D gives is certainly correct. If you were wondering about the origins of the expression, I have been told by older people that it evolved from past school customs.
Before indoor restrooms were common in schools, children would signal to be excused to use the outdoor restroom (called an "outhouse") by raising either one finger or two fingers. The teacher then excused the child but expected him or her to return quickly if only one finger had been raised. Naturally, two fingers would mean the teacher could expect the child to be delayed longer. This was important information for the teacher, not only to maintain discipline, but also to know when to check on a long-delayed (and unattended) child.
A reference to the custom ("number one" or "number two") is still used by children, it is true. It is also used by adults speaking to children (and also by some adults in certain situations where time or privacy are of critical importance), although the custom itself of raising fingers eventually disappeared when outdoor restrooms were no longer used.
What is the real explanation? I'm curious because we use the same expression in Polish...It always pains me to disagree with a poster, but I'm a professional research editor and I just can't help myself. The first recorded use of "number two" as a euphemism for defecation was in 1902, some 60 years after indoor plumbing had become the norm in most U.S. schools. The outhouse explanation is actually an urban legend. :-(
It always pains me to disagree with a poster, but I'm a professional research editor and I just can't help myself. The first recorded use of "number two" as a euphemism for defecation was in 1902, some 60 years after indoor plumbing had become the norm in most U.S. schools. The outhouse explanation is actually an urban legend. :-(
I can't see a big problem arising from the fact that indoor plumbing was in widespread use well before the first recorded use of the phrase. I mean, just because the toilet block is now indoors instead of outdoors doesn't mean the teacher no longer 'needs' this information. It's not like the cubicles were located at the back of the classroom from 1860 onwards, they still must have been down the corridor at least…
I always seen that expression too! But never know the meaning of it! But maybe it seems that they are acting like a hater... it's what I have understood for that.
At the risk of going even further off-thread, I have to say that I am surprised that indoor plumbing had become the norm in most U.S. schools by the 1860s. In Britain, flush plumbing may have been in city schools in the 1860s, though some rural schools still had earth closets well into the 1960s. (The foulness of the atmosphere still comes to my mind at times,)The first recorded use of "number two" as a euphemism for defecation was in 1902, some 60 years after indoor plumbing had become the norm in most U.S. schools. The outhouse explanation is actually an urban legend. :-(
I never knew that, MiaCulpa. Very interesting.
Welcome to the board.
Rover
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