Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 06:01:03 -0500

From: "M. Lynne Murphy" 104LYN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MUSE.ARTS.WITS.AC.ZA

Subject: lavatory



isn't it weird how whenever we discuss a word, it comes up in my

sunday newspaper?



this week in the "letter from new york" column (by tony allen-mills)

i the london _sunday times_, the focus was on children in the u.s.

engaging in civil lawsuits. here's the quote:



there was the case of philip garner, 10, who is suing his land-

lord for $100 000 for the trauma he suffered when the lavatory

in his Bronx apartment exploded.



now, does anyone know what the reference of "lavatory" is here? the

sink or the toilet? not sure if the wording reflects the bronx

location of the lavatory or the presumably british dialect of the

writer. certainly, it would be more traumatic to me if the toilet

exploded (and it seems more likely a thing for a toilet to do), but

this interpretation is in conflict with the restricted sense

"bathroom sink" that's been widely reported.



lynne



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