BATHROOMS, etc.

I wonder how "going to the bathroom" came to be the standard American euphemism for—well, you know. Surely our ancestors didn't say "go to the bathroom" back before indoor plumbing became the norm. So what did they say? "Go to the outhouse," I suppose. Does anyone know for sure?

IN THE HOSPITAL, etc.

I've got to hand it to the Brits for being more consistent than Americans on this point. Americans do say: "in prison," "in jail," "in court," "in school," "in college," "in kindergarten," "in class," "in day care," "in church,"—Quakers even say "in meeting"— but it's always "in the hospital." None of those other institutions requires "the." Why should hospital? It doesn't make any sense.

Consequently, I recommend that, for the sake of consistency, Americans adopt the British practice of saying "in hospital" forthwith!

COLLEGE vs. UNIVERSITY

If I say, "My son is a college student," it tells you nothing about whether the particular institution he attends is called a college or university. It would sound pretentious to say "My son is a university student"—as if you were trying to claim some special status for him because he attends a university rather than a college. Why else would you bother to use a 5-syllable word rather than a 2-syllable one?

Unless you're referring to a particular institution, "college" is usually taken to be a generic term that includes "university" e.g. "college textbook," "college courses," "college teacher," "college math" (or "college-level math").

The only reason to use the term "university" is when you are referring to a particular institution of higher learning that happens to be called a university, not a college. That's why you might say, "I went to the university in 1977" (presuming that your hearer knows which university you are talking about) or "I went to college in 1977" (where the identity of the particular institution is unimportant).

There is no need for Americans to adopt the usage "in university" because we would say "in college" instead anyway!