The word toilet?

craaaaaaaaaaaazy

It's odd that there is no good word for this.
Restroom is wrong because it just sounds so euphemistic.
Washroom sounds old fashioned and it also gets away from why you are really going there.
Bathroom is probably the one I actually use, but it has similar problems.
Toliet used to refer to the whole room just isn't American English.

the loo is pretty good...suppose it comes from l'eau of "gardez l'eau", though this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/696115.stm BBC article seems to refer to just the toliet as "the loo". It also uses "lavatory", which I think had some usage in U.S. English but has since died out.

This question is essential to me!

I would say that lavatory and water closet are the best choices, though I tend to say "toilet". They sound neither euphemistic to non-Americans nor improper to Americans.

There is nothing wrong with saying restroom. It's just Jim thinks there is.

Well, restroom is simply not British English, just as toilet used to refer to the whole room is simply not American English.

Better to have an international orientation!

You still hear lavatory a lot in American English. Elementary school teachers often refer to the bathroom/toilet as "the lav."

We can debate the euphemisms, but as to what to use, this all depends on what country you're in. Use whatever the most common term is in the country that you're visiting.

What about the Defecation and Urination Booth?

OH, Urination Booth, that sounds disgustingly..

Maybe it's not impolite to say it in the countries that say it, but it is really impolite {almost vulgar} to call the restroom the toilet in America.

That second "me" was an impersonator.

Is it really that impolite?

it is really impolite and gross to say toilet in a restaurant.

I think you guys are overreacting a bit. I work in a restaurant and if someone said "toilet" to me (as I've said before, for me the toilet is the contraption in the bathroom), I'd point them to the bathroom. It would be a little out of the ordinary to hear someone refer to the bathroom as a whole as a toilte, but it wouldn't be disgusting or gross.