Pardon?

[MothersGrim]

AIBU to not bother with the word "Pardon" for my young children? It seems like a generational thing to me but my parents and in laws correct my young children when they ask "What?"

I was just curious what the expectation is nowadays, should I be teaching them 'pardon'? Is it bad manners not to

Toilet isn't classless! Worse than pardon.

We say what or sorry?

What would you call toilet roll if you don't say toilet? Bathroom tissue? Lavatory paper? Or is it too vulgar to even mention?

I always say 'what' as do most people I know. Here, pardon is actually thought of as more appropriate. My mum is forever informing us of that, though she's a bit snobby. 'It's pardon, not whaaaaat' in this stupid exaggerated voice. I sometimes say 'sorry?' Or even a 'huh?'

I bloody love toilet! I fucking hate all the other names.

FlyingElbows. "Myself" ? I've never heard of anyone having an issue with that word, totally mystified , would you never say e.g "I went by myself"? Would you always say "I went on my own"? Genuinely curious.

One went by oneself don't you know.
One is pissing oneself etc

Excuse me a sec gotta use the bog

ILost loo paper or loo roll!

Got to say that 'spend a penny' is bloody awful unless you're 90+.

Well I thought pardon was the polite posh thing to say!

We do say piss rag in this house though.

Toilet is a great word. Always use it when talking to Americans. They think it's terribly rude and call it a bathroom, even when there's no bath.

But loo sounds ridiculous - I now realise why my MIL hates me. I must drive her nuts. I am partial to the odd pardon, settee if I forget and I do try to make myself say living room instead of lounge...it's bloody hard. I also say dinner instead of lunch.

My children's school actually teaches the children to say pardon - there are notices up about it. Cannot imagine this in a private school!

Well I thought pardon was the polite posh thing to say!

Absolutely not posh. At. All.

I don't get it, what's wrong with saying "toilet"?

Nobody where I live ever says pardon. The word sounds as though it should be in a Bronte novel to me.

Flatbox "myself" is only cringey if used incorrectly instead of "me" or "I" often by those trying to sound important - "sign here for myself" "Myself and Hayley will pass round the papers"

Can I just say this is fairly baffling to someone who isn't a native English speaker? I mean even those born here seem to disagree, I'll just stick to sorry and excuse me.

If your out and about the signs alway say toilet this way not the loo's over there??

you're

Don't worry Cheshire, I'm born and bred here and I never knew half this stuff!

In our house it's "you did a what with a where and a who?" (I'm mostly deaf).

Sounds funny coming from a 3yo.

Think it depends how "what?" is said. Sometimes DS will go "WOT?!?" with a look of "wtf", which gets corrected to "pardon." If he says it in a different way to that. then it's fine.

Flatbox, "Myself" in that context is fine. It's when estate agents (or others who are trying to sound educated but failing miserably) say things like, "Just give a call to myself" that it's incorrect.

My old-enough-to-know-better children always get the giggles when Grandad refers to the loo as "lavatory." He's the only person they've ever come across who uses the word. Somehow it always makes me think of those spider-strewn, cobwebby outside loos that old Victorian houses used to have.

Wales here,
We say pardon, settee and toilet.

"Can I use your toilet please"
"Mumbles...."
"Pardon"
"I don't want to get up off your settee but I really need the toilet, I'm bursting"

According to Jilly Cooper, "pardon" is a much-worse word than "fuck."