There are any number of expressions that annoy me. When someone tells you they are “working hard” to achieve something or other, I always suspect that they probably aren’t. “Let me be clear” is a clear indicator that someone is not going to be clear. And when a person claims they are taking a “well-deserved” break, I always think, “Well, that’s not for you to judge, is it?” But there is one term I loathe above all others: staycation.
The BBC announces that “The UK is set for a staycation summer” and proceeds to tell us that millions of people are likely to holiday in the UK this summer, given the uncertainties caused by Donald Trump’s unhinged war on Iran. But that is not what a staycation is. A staycation involves staying at home and going on day trips. A staycation is not when you go on holiday in the UK.
The clue is in the word staycation. ‘Stay’ meaning stay-at-home, ‘cation’ being vacation less the ‘va’. It ‘s not hard, is it?
According to wikipedia, so it must be true, the term was first used in 1944 in the Cincinatti Enquirer and came to the fore particularly during the worldwide financial crisis of 2008 and during and following the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. I remember Facebook being full of people saying that as they couldn’t go on holiday that year, they would be taking a staycation instead, which is another way of saying we can’t go on holiday so we’re going on holiday instead. It’s that bonkers.
If you’re going on holiday this year, meaning that you won’t be sleeping in your regular bed, you’re not on a staycation. Please don’t piss me off on your social media by saying you are. I know where you live.
