What it means
Slang for the toilet, or the room it’s in, said when you’re being blunt and not fussed about sounding posh. You’ll hear it in pubs, at mates’ places, on worksites, anywhere you might ask for directions in a hurry. Not rude exactly, just a bit rough round the edges, so maybe skip it at Nan’s dinner table.
Usage examples
"Oi, where’s the bog? I’m bursting. Down the corridor, second door on the left, but mind the lock, it’s proper dodgy."
"Back in a sec, just nipping to the bog before the film starts."
"The bog at that pub is freezing, you can see your breath in there."
"You been in the bog for ten minutes, mate. You writing a novel in there or what?"
"The office bog’s out of order again, so everyone’s trekking downstairs like miserable little penguins."
Where it comes from
This one’s old and proper earthy. In British and Irish English, bog has long meant a marsh or peatland, and by the late 18th century it had also picked up the toilet meaning. The jump seems tied to old outdoor latrines and rough, muddy ground, then it stuck as a blunt everyday word.
Other ways to say it
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