Sally, a friend of Italian descent, who grew up in East Boston had an interesting tale to tell. Her uncle who grew up in the family home, which included grandparents, with both English and Italian being spoken there, went to Italy to visit the family. While visiting, on the first meeting, as time passed he felt an urge to go to the bathroom, so he asked "Dove bagouse?" His hosts asked what he wanted as they did not understand him. "Dove bagouse?" " DOVE BAGOUSE" becoming more agitated as urgency set in. (In Italian Dove is pronunced doh-veh").
They said speak English as they did not know what he wanted. "Where is the bathroom?" he said. "Oh, the Water Closet, it is right in there."
Upon his return, they tried to figure out the meaning of "dove bagouse." Finally it dawned on them that this was Grandfather's pronunciation of "Back house."
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