Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite

"hungry" describes the condition where one craves intake of more food. what is the English name for the condition where one needs to expel the end result?

share|improve this question
I doubt it's shitty – rubenvb Mar 9 '12 at 14:20
@rubenvb: well, "hungry" does't mean that desires to "hang" – Alf P. Steinbach Mar 9 '12 at 14:22
1  
Dunno about America, but in Britain you're taken short. Sometimes it can also mean you're desperate to urinate, but normally that's bursting or busting [for a pee]. – FumbleFingers Mar 9 '12 at 14:34
2  
If it's pathologically frequent, the condition is termed rectal tenesmus. – Alain Pannetier Φ Mar 9 '12 at 17:03
1  
@FrustratedWithFormsDesigner: In Esperanto, the word "fekavida" is easily and naturally formed, meaning, literally, "defecate-urgently-wanting"...:) – Hexagon Tiling Mar 9 '12 at 23:02
show 4 more comments

4 Answers

up vote 6 down vote

There is no common word that describes this condition. American English speakers will politely say:

I need to go to the bathroom.

British English speakers may say something like:

I need to go to the loo.

I need to visit the WC.

None of these are explicit about what kind of waste is being eliminated, but in polite company you don't usually need to be exact about your toilet activities.

There are a wide variety of less polite alternatives, which I started to try to list, but gave up.

share|improve this answer
3  
"Touching cloth" is a personal fave :) – tinyd Mar 9 '12 at 14:40
I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone say "I need to visit the WC". – Andy F Mar 9 '12 at 14:47
2  
I'm not a brit: what do you/they say? Or maybe they just don't poop at all. – JSBձոգչ Mar 9 '12 at 15:31
1  
loo is idiomatic, WC isn't. – Useless Mar 9 '12 at 15:32
1  
"I'm crowning!" – cornbread ninja 麵包忍者 Mar 9 '12 at 16:08
show 2 more comments
up vote 2 down vote

My grandmother would never be more explicit than to say she "needed to powder her nose". The fact that she didn't wear makeup was quite beside the fact. On the other end of the spectrum, others might have a "need to take a dump".

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

Fecal urgency is the term for really needing to go.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

Prairie dogging, as depicted in the movie Rat Race (2001):

Kimberly Pear: [Kimberly needs to go to the bathroom] Dad, I'm prairie dogging it! Randy Pear: What the hell does that mean? Jason Pear: You know, like when a prairie dog sticks his head in and out of the ground. Randy Pear: Oh. [Five seconds later] Bev Pear: Ugh! Randy Pear: Ohh, god, I do not wanna picture that!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250687/quotes

share|improve this answer

protected by RegDwighт♦ Mar 9 '12 at 14:30

This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.