Anonymous wrote:Okay, I have always called the powder room the powder room. I have no idea why anyone would think it is suburban, as stated in an earlier post, the term is from the Victorian Era. I have always wondered about the use of passed away and died...I thought it had to do with religion not class. Can anyone help?
"Powder room" predates the Victorian era. It has to do with a small room that society people went into to get their wigs repowdered. It's an antiquated term. The Victorians used it because anything to do with bodily functions was considered indelicate and vulgar. Kind of like the long tableclothes they used to cover up the legs of their tables... b/c even exposed table legs were considered indecent. The Victorians were uptight, and I guess some people think that suburbanites are too.