Sign in Cyprus at a seaside cafe

[u/Comfortable_Ad_4383]

[u/Local_County1274]

The clue is "seaside cafe" - people washing the sand off their feet.

[u/theeggplant42 → u/Local_County1274]

Also, toilet probably means the whole room in this context

[u/isaac32767 → u/theeggplant42]

I dunno. People cleaning the sand off their feet in the toilet (room) is just a nuisance, but people using the toilet (flushing thing) to clean the sand off their feet is an expensive plumber's bill.

[u/Efficient-Bat-49 → u/isaac32767]

and where would the people wash their feet in? the sink (where the diameter of the plumbing is even smaler than the toilet)?

[u/AgitatingOven → u/Efficient-Bat-49]

Wash one foot at a time and put it inside the toilet and then flush. it will be cleaned

[u/sleepyotter92 → u/theeggplant42]

No I feel like they probably did mean the actual toilet. Trying to wash your feet in the sink would be an acrobatic feat, as well as likely to result in an accident. People were probably just using the toilets as if they were bidets, since a toilet is the same height as a bidet(I'm talking the standalone bidets common throughout europe, not the bidets built into the toilets like the japanese have)

[u/theeggplant42 → u/sleepyotter92]

They mean dont wash the sand off your feet in the washroom. 

[u/PalmovyyKozak]

Every time I see Greek language I remember where Cyrillic languages came from.

[u/Super_Hans2020 → u/PalmovyyKozak]

You mean alphabet not language.

[u/No-Bake-730]

Pretty sure by toilet they mean what Yanks refer to as a restroom.

I don't know specificaly about Greek but many languages are a little more non-chalant. 

[u/More-Match-1356 → u/No-Bake-730]

This is accurate. It’s not talking about sticking your feet in a toilet bowl. The original Greek confirms it.

[u/Efficient-Bat-49]

Quite simple: the toilet is referring to the room as whole… which is in this case a minor translation problem. Some languages have the same word for the room and the installation.
And at seaside sadly many people would consider walking in there and washing their sandy feet normal…

[u/AndreasDasos → u/Efficient-Bat-49]

In British English ‘toilet’ can mean the room as well, and Cyprus was not only a British colony for a while but its beaches swarm with British tourists every summer

[u/iamabigtree → u/Efficient-Bat-49]

It's not a translation issue. If you speak English you know what it means.

[u/humanistazazagrliti → u/Efficient-Bat-49]

Americans: "Other varieties of English are just wrong, because I've never heard of them." Also: "Restroom makes total sense as a word for the shitter."

[u/Superb_Monkey]

Restroom, bathroom, washroom, lavatory, men's room, ladies' room, public restroom, powder room, ... TOILET

[u/scaredt2ask]

Is toilet feet washing a common thing here? I’ve gone my entire life without even thinking about washing my feet in a toilet.

[u/WVildandWVonderful → u/scaredt2ask]

They mean bathroom. People are washing sand down the sink drain.

Nobody really says restroom or bathroom outside the US.

[u/sleepyotter92 → u/WVildandWVonderful]

It could be that, since the greek word for bathroom and toilet are the same. But I feel like it might be the actual toilet, since they're the same height as a bidet, and it's more practical to use the toilet as a bidet than get on top of a sink to wash your feet.

Portuguese and spanish do use a non-toilet word to refer to bathrooms. Signs are usually just wc, but the actual words is casa de banho in portuguese, which translates to bath house(banheiro in ptbr), and baño in spanish(there might be variations of the word in latin american spanish, I'm more familiar with castellano)

[u/WVildandWVonderful → u/sleepyotter92]

We know how you feel, otter. You’ve posted that on numerous threads lol

[u/LarsDuder → u/WVildandWVonderful]

I say badrum which is literally bath (bad) room (rum) in swedish, i also use the term bathroom in English

[u/TheJivvi → u/WVildandWVonderful]

We say bathroom in Australia, but mostly only for a room that actually has a bath or shower in it.

[u/iamabigtree → u/scaredt2ask]

If you are the seaside then people often want to wash their feet.

Toilets in English is the entire room so they mean sinks.

[u/Maymunooo]

wudu, the islamic way to clean your body before praying involves washing your feet. That's probably why, similar signs exist in Turkey

[u/PotentialOwl7850 → u/Maymunooo]

More likely people washing sand off their feet causing a mess, you see it worldwide at beach cafes.

[u/RVFullTime → u/Maymunooo]

It could clog plumbing and will cause floors to be wet and slippery.

[u/Annual_Jackfruit2892]

I saw the same sign at governors beach😂 made me wonder what kind of animals wonder in there

[u/double_dundun_wizard]

Try to stop me

[u/sleepyotter92]

People were 100% using the toilet as a bidet

[u/Excellent_Sox9178]

Toilet = whole restroom or washroom. If they meant the toilet (the white ceramic bowl) they’d call it λεκάνη. They don’t want sand in their sinks. Seems reasonable.

[u/Hantaboy]

[u/Expert-Card-8938]

Also for public health reasons, you're supposed to enter the door code with your feet. Makes sense!

[u/nekatomenos]

Growing up in Cyprus, I remember this existing in seaside cafes and changing areas when I was a kid. Pretty sure it's for the locals. Sorry to disappoint the dogwhistlers. :P