Cloakroom
From: | David McCann <david@...> |
Date: | Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 16:36 |
In Britain the term cloakroom (always one word) is still, and mainly,
used of a place where you deposit your coat. The use for a lavatory
(with a basin, unlike Australia) is entirely confined to estate agents.
Incidentally, every new house now has to be built with a cloakroom in
this sense, to render it suitable for the disabled. Note also the basin
(for American washing up) — a sink (for British washing up) is found in
the kitchen.
Although the British and Americans like to think they understand each
other, there's always something new. Until this discussion, I never knew
Americans kept their clothes in a dresser. For us, a dresser is a piece
of traditional kitchen furniture: a cupboard (with drawers for
"cutlery") with shelving above on which crockery is displayed.
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