# defecate / poop / stool / shit



## sb70012

Hello,
I want to say that the baby *passed solid waste out of his body*.

1. He defecated there.
2. He pooped there.
3. He left stool in there.
4. He shit (shat) there.

These are self made examples. How do you say it in English? What's your opinion about my above self made examples?
What's the best way to say it?

Thank you


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## bennymix

It depends on the context, degree of formality and so on.   Any of the four might work, though past tense 'shat' is not so common in AE in my experience.


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## DonnyB

I wouldn't use (3) which sounds odd to me.  In the context of a baby, (2) sounds the most natural I think: (1) is the "correct" verb to use but sounds a little formal, whereas (4) is rather vulgar.  (You can incidentally in BE use "shitted" for the past tense if you prefer).


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## sb70012

Thank you.


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## pob14

The doctor might say (1) to me.  I might say (2) to the babysitter. (3) could concievably be used by a nurse who graduated from school in 1938.  I would say (4) if my friends were over watching a football game.


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## Sparky Malarky

3 makes it sound as if he defecated somewhere else and moved the stool to "there."


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## Fictional

I would definitely use the word _poop_. (1) is something I would read in a biology book. And, I would use the word _stool_ when I'm talking to a doctor.


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## sb70012

pob14 said:


> I would say (4) if my friends were over watching a football game.


For what? Does this mean "*the football player did bad while playing*"?


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## Franco-filly

I'm not sure of the relevance of "there", are you pointing to a particular spot where the baby defecated?  I think I'd say "He did a poo / did a number two / crapped / did a big one (over) there."
He left a stool there sounds as though he's been moving the furniture


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## Thomas1

Hello,

Can "He passed stool.", "He passed a stool." or "He passed stools." be also conisdered a valid possibility in this case? (I'm not adding "there" because I'm not sure what the purpose of it is.) If so, which one would you choose? I've seen both singular and plural on the internet; is there any difference? 

Lidocaine is usually only used for one to two weeks  because the fissure should start to heal within this time. It is usually  applied shortly before _passing_ a _stool_, *...*
Anal Fissure - Treatment - NHS Choices

Switching to a high-fibre diet should also help to  relieve symptoms and speed up the recovery time because the fibre makes  it easier to _pass stools_.
NHS Direct Wales - Encyclopaedia : Anal fissure

Constipation is when you are not _passing stool_ as often as you normally do. Your stool becomes hard and dry, and it is difficult to pass.
Fecal Impaction - The New York Times​


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## Edinburgher

"Poop" can be ambiguous.  It sometimes just means "fart".


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## sb70012

Franco-filly said:


> I'm not sure of the relevance of "there", are you pointing to a particular spot where the baby defecated?


Yes.

Everybody, thanks for answering. Can we use #4 for a person who did bad?
  I mean suppose that we are watching a football game. One of the players did very bad while playing and couldn't get score.
  You get angry and you say: "He shit there" (he did very bad)

  Does it work in that context too?


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## Packard

Well, my mom used #1 and #2 as euphemisms for passing bodily wastes.  "#1" meant urnination, and "#2" meant bowel movement.

_Mom, I have to go to the bathroom.

Number one or number two?

Number one.

OK.  Can you wait like five or six hours?

Sure, Mom._


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## sb70012

Packard said:


> "#1" meant urnination


Are you sure? Isn't it solid waste?


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## pob14

sb70012 said:


> Are you sure? Isn't it solid waste?


Packard is not talking about Sentence #1 in your post; Packard means that the actual words "Number One" refer to urination, and "Number Two" to defecation.


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## Sparky Malarky

Edinburgher said:


> "Poop" can be ambiguous.  It sometimes just means "fart".



Not in Am.E.


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## DonnyB

Thomas1 said:


> Can "He passed stool.", "He passed a stool." or "He passed stools." be also conisdered a valid possibility in this case? (I'm not adding "there" because I'm not sure what the purpose of it is.) If so, which one would you choose? I've seen both singular and plural on the internet; is there any difference?


No. I wouldn't use it in this context, even with the correct syntax.  It comes across to me as a piece of medical terminology which sounds fine if you're discussing bowel movements with your doctor but not when you're pointing out something a baby's just done in the wrong place.


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## sb70012

Can we use #4 for a person who did bad?
  I mean suppose that we are watching a football game. One of the players did very bad while playing and couldn't get score.
  You get angry and you say: "He shit there" (he did very bad)

  Does it work in that context too?


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## Packard

pob14 said:


> Packard is not talking about Sentence #1 in your post; Packard means that the actual words "Number One" refer to urination, and "Number Two" to defecation.



Yes, exactly.  I thought I was clear.  But thanks for clarifying that.


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## Myridon

sb70012 said:


> Can we use #4 for a person who did bad?
> I mean suppose that we are watching a football game. One of the players did very bad while playing and couldn't get score.
> You get angry and you say: "He shit there" (he did very bad)
> 
> Does it work in that context too?


No, it doesn't work.


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## Fictional

sb70012 said:


> Can we use #4 for a person who did bad?
> I mean suppose that we are watching a football game. One of the players did very bad while playing and couldn't get score.
> You get angry and you say: "He shit there" (he did very bad)
> 
> Does it work in that context too?



I'm not sure though, but I think in this context you can "that was shitty". I'm very interested to hear other members' opinions on this.


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## sb70012

Everybody, thanks so much for answering.

What about these ones:

He passed a motion.
He had a number 2.
He had a bowel movement.

Are these common as well?


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## Packard

He passed a motion. This does not work for me.

He had a number 2. The "number 1" or "number two" from my experience is almost always used with the verb "do". "Did you do number one or number two?"1

He had a bowel movement.

1Others may have different experiences with this.


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## DonnyB

sb70012 said:


> He passed a motion.
> He had a number 2.
> He had a bowel movement.


Both (1) and (3) are fine if talking to a doctor or nurse, but I wouldn't expect to hear them much in general conversation.  Option (2) is only going to work within a family that understands what the numbering system means!


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## sb70012

Thank you so much.
In no dictionary I have found "to do number one or number two"
Do you have any link defining the term?
I myself have not found it.


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## Thomas1

DonnyB said:


> No. I wouldn't use it in this context, even with the correct syntax.  It comes across to me as a piece of medical terminology which sounds fine if you're discussing bowel movements with your doctor but not when you're pointing out something a baby's just done in the wrong place.


Thank you, Donny.


sb70012 said:


> Thank you so much.
> In no dictionary I have found "to do number one or number two"
> Do you have any link defining the term?
> I myself have not found it.


http://www.thefreedictionary.com/number+one
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/number+two


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## sb70012

Daddy, I have number one.
Daddy, I have number two.

Are these natural? I mean can I use "*have*" in here?


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## Edinburgher

No, we don't "have" number twos, we "do" them.  Only use "did" or "need to do", and always include the article "a" before "number".

These terms are only used with small children, by the way.  They are not generally used among adults, except in jest.
I think that "number one" is a back-formation from "number two", which seems to be rhyming slang for "poo".


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## sb70012

Hello again,
How does a child says to his/her father that he/she needs to urinate?

1. Daddy, Daddy, I have a pee.

Does it work?


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## owlman5

sb70012 said:


> Hello again,
> How does a child says to his/her father that he/she needs to urinate?
> 
> 1. Daddy, Daddy, I have a pee.
> 
> Does it work?


I've never heard any little kid use "I have a pee".  That's a bizarre thing to say.  
"I have to pee" is normal.


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## Myridon

sb70012 said:


> What about these ones:
> 
> He passed a motion.


In American English, "motion" can't be substituted for bowel movement. It  could only be this "motion":


> 5 a formal proposal to be discussed and voted on in a debate, meeting, etc


He approved a proposal.


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## sb70012

Everybody, thanks for answering. Isn't there any structure like this:

 I + have + noun (liquid waste of body)


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## pob14

sb70012 said:


> Everybody, thanks for answering. Isn't there any structure like this:
> 
> I + have + noun (liquid waste of body)


No.


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## sb70012

Some minutes ago one native American speaker in a chat room told me that this can work:

Daddy, Daddy, I've got a number one.

Do you agree with her? Does it work?


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## Myridon

I have a something.  = I own something. or I am carrying something.
I've got a number one.  I'm carrying a glass of urine.

Perhaps you're thinking of:
I have (got) to do something.  I need to act.
I have to number one.  I need to pee.


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## pob14

sb70012 said:


> Some minutes ago one native American speaker in a chat room told me that this can work:
> 
> Daddy, Daddy, I've got a number one.
> 
> Do you agree with her? Does it work?


_No_.  

I mean, little kids say lots of things.  One child of my acquaintance used to say "Do you bees happy?" instead of "Are you happy?" That doesn't make it right.

Edit:  Hold on, Myridon's post makes me think that the lady in the chat room is saying "Daddy, I've *gotta* number one." (From a little kid, more likely "I gotta number one.") Gotta = phonetic transcription of "got to."  Possible, although I'd still expect "I gotta go number 1."


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## sb70012

Thank you so much. What if the little child wants to poop?

Daddy, Daddy, I need to poop.

Does it work? I think it works.


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## pob14

I think I edited while you were posting; make sure to check my last post again.

Yes, "I need to poop" is very common for kids.


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## Packard

sb70012 said:


> Everybody, thanks for answering. Isn't there any structure like this:
> 
> I + have + noun (liquid waste of body)



There is a fixed phrase (vulgar) that conforms:

"I gotta take a wicked shit." (You have to have a bowel movement urgently.)

"I gotta take a shit." (You have to have a bowel movement.)

Note: I am writing as dialog. Correct grammar would have it as, "I've got to take a shit."

(But who worries about grammar when you gotta take a wicked shit? )


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## sb70012

Now I completely understood it.
Everybody, thanks for answering.


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## sb70012

Hello again,
I have another question. As you know "*stool*" is usually used only in medical contexts, usually in the phrase "*stool sample*."
But what verb is used before that? "*leave*" or "*pass*" or another verb?
For example:

The sick man should leave a stool.
The sick man should pass a stool.

What verb is used with it?

Thank you


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## pob14

According to the UK National Health Service, one _collects_ a stool sample (not "a stool.").


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## sb70012

pob14 said:


> According to the UK National Health Service, one _collects_ a stool sample (not "a stool.").


So,
The sick man should collect a stool. 
The sick man should collect a stool. 

Right?


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## Loob

sb70012 said:


> So,
> The sick man should collect a stool.
> The sick man should collect a stool.
> 
> Right?


?


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## sb70012

Loob said:


> ?


It doesn't make sense to me too but Pob said to me to use "*collect*"
What's your opinion Loob? What verb is used with it?


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## Edinburgher

Packard said:


> "I gotta take a wicked shit." (You have to have a bowel movement urgently.)


 
"Wicked" describes quality (in this instance, possibly quantity), not urgency.  It's going to be a beauty/whopper.
Mind you, the two might go hand in hand.


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## Thomas1

sb70012 said:


> Everybody, thanks for answering. Isn't there any structure like this:
> 
> I + have + noun (liquid waste of body)


I'm going to have a pee/piss.

I've got the shits/the runs/diarrhoea.




sb70012 said:


> Hello again,
> I have another question. As you know "*stool*" is usually used only in medical contexts, usually in the phrase "*stool sample*."
> But what verb is used before that? "*leave*" or "*pass*" or another verb?
> For example:
> 
> The sick man should leave a stool.
> The sick man should pass a stool.
> 
> What verb is used with it?
> 
> Thank you



What exactly do you want to say? The verb depends on the intended meaning. If you have a look at  the examples I quoted in one of my previous posts, you will find a verb  there that was used with the word "stool".


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## Edinburgher

sb70012 said:


> but Pob said to me to use "*collect*"


 It's not a question of the verb but of the noun.  The word _*sample*_ is needed: We collect stool samples, not stools.


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## sb70012

1. I have to do number one.
2. I have to do *a* number one.

In sentence #2 should I use article "*a*" or not?


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## Pedro y La Torre

Yes, "a" is required.


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## sb70012

As you know some native English speaker told me to use "do" in here:

I did a number one.

This is my question: Can I also use "went"?

I mean " I went a number one"

Is it correct?


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## Pedro y La Torre

No, you cannot use "went" in this instance. Furthermore, "number ones" and "number twos" are generally terms used by children, not adults. As you are 24, I'd hold off using it with native English speakers.


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## sb70012

As you know "*motion*" means solid waste material that comes out when you empty your bowels - used especially by doctors and nurses.

I want to know whether it's a common expression and used among people or it's just used in medical contexts?
Is it used among ordinary people too?


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## DonnyB

In my experience, no: I wouldn't expect to hear or see "motion" being used outside of a medical context.


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## Pedro y La Torre

I'm afraid I do not understand sb70012, could you be more precise? What expression with "motion" are you inquiring about? "Motion" as used by doctors is usually restricted to strictly medical contexts.


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## sb70012

Pedro y La Torre said:


> I'm afraid I do not understand sb70012, could you be more precise? What expression with "motion" are you inquiring about? "Motion" as used by doctors is usually restricted to strictly medical contexts.


Donny did it. Pedro and Donny thanks for answering.
I have another question. What if we talk about animals?

The tiger pooped. The elephant pooped. The monkey pooped.

Do they work? If not then how should I say it?


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## Pedro y La Torre

Again, pooped is a term appropriate to the under-10s.


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## DonnyB

We very commonly talk about a dog "pooping".  So I don't really see why it wouldn't work with a tiger, an elephant or a monkey.


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## DonnyB

Pedro y La Torre said:


> Again, pooped is a term appropriate to the under-10s.


Well, certainly in England, the implement with which you clean up after your dog is called a "poop-scoop"


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## sb70012

Thank you again,

As you know "defecate" is formal and "poop" is informal:

Suppose that I am a BBC reporter. I am talking about wild life in a jungle. All people are watching me on TV.

Can I still use the word "poop" while reporting? Or I should use "defecate"?


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## Pedro y La Torre

DonnyB said:


> Well, certainly in England, the implement with which you clean up after your dog is called a "poop-scoop"



Same here, but would you say, "my dog pooped"? Such a person would come across as rather infantile in my world. On second thoughts, maybe AE speakers might say this, even as adults, I'm not sure.

@sb70012, use "defecate", definitely.


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## DonnyB

Pedro y La Torre said:


> Same here, but would you say, "my dog pooped"? Such a person would come across as rather infantile in my world. On second thoughts, maybe AE speakers might say this, even as adults, I'm not sure.


But going back to sb's original question, what would you call it instead?  It's described by the local council here as "allowing your dog to *foul"* but I wouldn't really expect to hear any dog owners saying in the course of ordinary conversation that that's what their dog had just done.


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## Pedro y La Torre

DonnyB said:


> But going back to sb's original question, what would you call it instead?  It's described by the local council here as "allowing your dog to *foul"* but I wouldn't really expect to hear any dog owners saying in the course of ordinary conversation that that's what their dog had just done.



I think we'd more likely say something like "my dog did his business on the street", or something of that nature; or even "my dog shat on the pavement". "Pooped" would surprise me, from an Irish English speaker.


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## sb70012

Wait, wait, I got confused again. Do you mean "*my dog pooped*" is not natural or common?


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## Pedro y La Torre

sb70012 said:


> Wait, wait, I got confused again. Do you mean "*my dog pooped*" is not natural or common?



It's perfectly correct, but something I would expect to hear from a child. I can only speak for my own dialect of English (Ireland) however, elsewhere it may be different.


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## Packard

I suppose we should differentiate between_ formal, medical, slang_ and what I call _"cutesy"_ English. 


_Slang _is not appropriate for formal writing and in some company.
_Formal_ is suitable for formal writing and for all company.
_Cutesy_ is suitable for children and in reference to pets.
There is also_ "medical" _but there may be considerable overlap from formal to medical.

_Defecate _is formal (and possibly medical)_
Shit_ and _crap_ are slang.
_Poop, doo-doo_ and others are cutesy.


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## Alameen

Dear Experts 
aside from euphemisms, if one needs to urinate or defecate then what are these conditions called?
I mean the words that generally acceptable not too vulgar or too formal.
as simple and clear as when we need to eat, we are hungry, or need to drink we are thirsty.
one needs to urinate then they .... or they are ...


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## Hermione Golightly

I have no need to tell anybody exactly what I _need _to do.
I say 'I'll be back in a minute'.
It's different if I'm talking in a medical context.


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## Packard

If specificity is required, I guess you could get away with, "I've got to take a dump."

But specificity is not generally required or desired, so "I've got to use the bathroom" is about all the information that the average person wants to know.  Indeed, "I've got something I need to attend to," will suffice in most instances.

Ms Golightly responded while I was typing and I find her aversion to specificity consistent with mine.


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## bennymix

Children often say--as do some adults--I have to _go_; {or I need to _go_.}  (But I'll be right back.){The latter if clarification is needed.}
As others said above, specifics are not needed in many cases.

I find Packard's suggestion [dump] a bit crude;   what a guy tells his locker-room buddies.

There are many humorous expressions in some groups, e.g. 'drain the dragon'.



Alameen said:


> Dear Experts
> aside from euphemisms, if one needs to urinate or defecate then what are these conditions called?
> I mean the words that generally acceptable not too vulgar or too formal.
> as simple and clear as when we need to eat, we are hungry, or need to drink we are thirsty.
> one needs to urinate then they .... or they are ...


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## You little ripper!

I didn't know the word 'poop' until I heard Oprah use it on her show many years ago. There is no letter 'p' at the end of the word in Australian English. We do, however, use the word 'poop(er) scooper' to describe the device used to pick up animal feces, but that's probably because the inventor is American.


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## Alameen

Hermione Golightly, Packard, bennymix, You little ripper!
thank you very much for your valuable answers.
O Hermione Golightly
if you know a medical term that describes the condition when human being needs desperately to urinate, please share it,
I read something about retention or congestion of urine, but they seem to me like illness not the normal conditions.
PS: in Arabic there are formal terms for trying not to release the urine , excrement and even surprisingly the gas.
in addition to the formal terms, there are several synonyms for the urine condition in different dialects of Arabic, one of them means "Restraint".


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## Edinburgher

Hermione Golightly said:


> I have no need to tell anybody exactly what I _need _to do.
> I say 'I'll be back in a minute'.


If there are enough people present that you can slink away unnoticed, you don't need to say anything, just   But often one feels the need to excuse one's absenting oneself, and an explanation is generally the simplest way to do so.  Just saying "I'll be back in a minute" doesn't seem enough of an explanation because it can mean anything, for example that you're about to put the kettle on so you can all have tea.  The same goes for Packard's "needing to attend to something":  What's he going to do?  Put the canapes in the oven or tell the surprise guests to prepare for their appearance?

People do seem in general to be more willing to volunteer the nature of their need when it is liquid.  "I need a pee" / "I'm bursting".  We don't tend to say that we need a shit/crap/dump (and I agree with bennymix that "taking a dump" is not an option in polite conversation.  Of course since a discharge of solids is usually accompanied by one of liquids, one can always say, without worrying about telling a lie, that one needs a pee when it's really more than that.


You little ripper! said:


> There is no letter 'p' at the end of the word in Australian English.


Same here.  To poop means to discharge gas, not solids.  Solids are "poo". Often referred to as a "number two" because it rhymes.  It's a pity that "one" doesn't rhyme with "pee".


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## Glenfarclas

Edinburgher said:


> Same here. To poop means to discharge gas, not solids.



Not in American English, it doesn't.



Edinburgher said:


> Often referred to as a "number two" because it rhymes.



I don't think that is the reason at all (we don't have "rhyming slang" in the U.S.; and it would not explain why urination is "number one"), but I'm _really_ not interested enough to Google it and find a source.


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## natkretep

You little ripper! said:


> I didn't know the word 'poop' until I heard Oprah use it on her show many years ago. There is no letter 'p' at the end of the word in Australian English. We do, however, use the word 'poop(er) scooper' to describe the device used to pick up animal feces, but that's probably because the inventor is American.


Yes, I was going to say that _poop_ sounds very American. I say _poo_ if I need the informal word. Here's a funny British sign.


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## You little ripper!

natkretep said:


> Here's a funny British sign.


Thanks for the laugh, nat!


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## velisarius

Alameen said:


> Dear Experts
> aside from euphemisms, if one needs to urinate or defecate then what are these conditions called?
> I mean the words that generally acceptable not too vulgar or too formal.
> as simple and clear as when we need to eat, we are hungry, or need to drink we are thirsty.
> one needs to urinate then they .... or they are ...



_I haven't eaten all day; I'm very hungry.
There are no toilets here; I'm bursting/I'm dying to go/I'm desperate._  These are informal but not vulgar - the sort of thing one might say to friends or family members. We don't normally need to give strangers this information.

Note that I give the reason for my discomfort first (the lack of facilities) - it's unlikely that I would just blurt out the information.


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## Alameen

velisarius said:


> _I haven't eaten all day; I'm very hungry.
> There are no toilets here; I'm bursting/I'm dying to go/I'm desperate._  These are informal but not vulgar - the sort of thing one might say to friends or family members. We don't normally need to give strangers this information.
> 
> Note that I give the reason for my discomfort first (the lack of facilities) - it's unlikely that I would just blurt out the information.



thanks velisarius
your answer is significant.


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## eli7

What an interesting topic. Very helpful. Thanks all


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