Re: Lavatories, bathrooms,... Was: Re: Hymn to Ikea

Quoting John Cowan <cowan@...>:

> In North American English also:  the men's/ladies' room,
Why is it "men's" and "ladies'", not "men's" and "women's", or "gentlemen's"
and "ladies'"? The last would correspond to Swedish (and German) usage; the
first time I ran across a men's room that said simply "men" on the door I
found it somewhat impolite.

                                                   Andreas