In November 1889, a proper young lady received shocking news. She could no longer say the word “piss.” The moment, captured in her own handwriting, is one of the funniest entries in Just a Plain Girl from High Wycombe by Chloe Weston McKenzie (edited with Allison Carroll).
“I Laughed Aloud.”
Phoebe Miller was just ten years old when her elegant tutor, Lady Alice, delivered the rule. From that day on, Phoebe must refer to urination only as “the letter p.” No exceptions.
Phoebe’s reaction was pure gold. She laughed aloud.
“No,” Lady Alice said firmly, “you cannot say that any longer.”
Phoebe could not believe it. In her journal, she wrote with total honesty:
“Every human and every animal pisses. It is not something about which to whisper or be embarrassed. People see little boys and horses, and sometimes men, stopping to piss in the streets every day.”
She already knew some words were off-limits in front of boys or in public; her mother had taught her that. But “piss”? That seemed ridiculous. Still, as a young lady in training, she finally agreed to use “p” instead.
A Farm Girl Meets High-Society Manners
This entry perfectly captures Phoebe’s no-nonsense personality. Born on a small horse farm outside High Wycombe, she grew up practical and direct. She helped train horses, bathed with her family in a stream they dammed with rocks, and learned to make soap from wood ash, lard, and palm oil. Life was earthy and real.
Lady Alice, from a wealthy background, was preparing Phoebe for higher society. Victorian etiquette demanded delicate language. Phoebe’s straight-talking farm-girl logic often clashed with those rules, and the result is hilarious.
Why This 1889 Entry Still Makes Readers Laugh
When Chloe Weston McKenzie discovered Phoebe’s seven journals in 2006 inside a locked fireproof cabinet in a dusty barn, she knew she had found something special. Phoebe wrote as if speaking directly to her future grandchildren with zero filter and plenty of humor.
More than 130 years later, that honesty feels refreshing. In our age of oversharing, Phoebe’s matter-of-fact voice is both shocking and delightful.
If you love real history that feels alive, funny, and surprisingly relatable, Just a Plain Girl from High Wycombe belongs on your reading list. One page in and you’ll be laughing with Phoebe and cheering for the clever, spirited girl who refused to be ordinary.