holiday / vacation

I'm out and about until 21 July, so I get a (BrE) holiday and you get a (AmE) vacation from me.

If you're desperate for some English-on-English action, then have a look at the archives. There are some lonely orphan posts with no comments on them. They need you! I won't be around to assure them that they're just as interesting as Welsh dresser and World Cup words. (They can get a bit whingy (AmE=whiny), but don't let that put you off.)

8 comments

  1. Have a BRILLIANT, AMAZING holiday/vacation! ;)

    Your readers will eagerly await your return, later in the month.

    Janet

    (lordcelery.blogspot.com)

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  2. I've seen whingy in written British English, but I've always wondered... how is it pronounced?

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  3. Just a note to remind ourselves that we Brits also use the word 'vacation', but with a nore restricted sense, i.e., to refer to the periods of leisure between the university and the law terms.


    AWESOME (an example of American overstatement, perhaps!) blog, Lynne! I very much look forward to its continuation!

    Howard

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  4. > I've seen whingy in written British English, but I've always wondered... how is it pronounced?

    It's pronounced stinji, Carl, to rhyme with 'stingy', rather than with 'stringy'. In Scottish dialects it is possibly pronounced 'hwinji' - the Scots tend to be more careful about the 'wh' than the English, I think.

    I used to think 'whinge' was an Australian word, introduced into BrE in the early '70s, (Ozzies used complain about 'whinging Poms' - Brit visitors to their country complained about all things Australian), but my dictionary tells me it's from OE hwinsian, whine.

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    Replies
    1. BrE. As a Scot, I thought I would pronounce it winji, but spell it wingy, until I saw this written down. However, definitely pronounce the verb winj and spell it winge, without the h.

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  5. Damn!

    Lots of typos in my comment above: I meant 'winji', not 'stinji'; there ought to be a 'to' before 'complain'; and there ought to be a 'who' between 'country' and 'complained'! :-(

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  6. looks like I can go away and you-all will get along fine entertaining yourselves! :)

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  7. Am I the only one who finds "English-on-English action" to be more than a little suggestive?

    Also, I would use break rather than vacation in this case.

    Vacation suggests, although it does not require, going away, spending a lot of money, and doing touristy things.

    Since it is you who went on holiday, the broader break seems more appropiate.

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Abbr.

AmE = American English
BrE = British English
OED = Oxford English Dictionary (online)