Is this word still used ?

[mrssprout]

I am in Australia & a new clothes shop has opened near me. It is called "Privvy". When I was a little girl my English Nan told me about having an outside toilet when she was little, she called it the privy. Is this word still in common use ? I thought it was an odd choice for a shop name but maybe I'm just old & nobody else associates it with toilets any more.

I don't think the word is used much anymore but i think it's an odd name for a shop knowing what it meant..

I think older British people would understand it, but it can also be used for knowing something, eg I wasn't privy to that information.

Yes it is still used in my area.

Lots/most of the houses in my area have the room that used to be the outside toilet still attached to the back of the house although now mostly used as storage as they're accessed from outside, you'll still hear people shouting out "can you get the bird seed/spade/tool?! It's in the privvy!" 😂

In australia, what we called a privvy was called a dunny, so privvy won't have the same connotations.
Apparently, Zizi is slang for penis in France, so the chain of restaurants here causes much hilarity!

Two completely different words and spelling, so shouldn't be confused.
Privvy, as in loo, was shorthand for private (as in a private place). Privy to info is what it is.

Exactly to both.

Except the correct spelling of both is with one ‘v’. That said, if the shop is spelling it with more than one, it’s not the exact same word anyway. Still a weird name for a shop!

I was told privvy was from the the French word Privé(e) to mean private.

It reminds me of this American company that had a quick change of branding after launching on twitter and getting lots of comments/memes from British people!

I agree with pp’s regarding the definitions of privy. For a clothes shop I’d think it alluded to privileged and probably sold clothes beyond my budget 😂

From a marketing point of view you’ll remember the name and potentially tell others about it. Then some will also go in just to see what they sell/have a look around - some will then buy something. If it was called “Amy’s shop” would you ?

We live in a row of back to back terraces which at one time had a set of outside toilets for the whole row. The loos have long gone but it's used to store the street's wheelie bins. Everyone still calls it "the privvy".

Thanks, looks like it's not that common now & as far as marketing goes I guess I won't forget what they're called