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busman's holiday. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
busman's holiday, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
busman's holiday in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
First recorded in 1893 in the UK. The idea is that a busman, to go off on a holiday, would take an excursion by bus, thereby engaging in a similar activity to his work.
Pronunciation
Noun
busman's holiday (plural busman's holidays)
- (idiomatic) A holiday or vacation during which one does something similar to what one does as work.
1994, Diane Heilenman, Gardening in the Lower Midwest: A Practical Guide for the New Zones 5 and 6, Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 114:Although it is in the nature of a busman's holiday, I always try to visit a nursery and a botanic garden when I'm traveling.
2015, Michael Bamberger, Men in Green, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 254:I have come to realize that the busman's holiday is an elemental part of my life. Actually, I don't know where my work life stops and my recreational life begins.
References
- Michael Quinion (2004) “Busman's holiday”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.
- Notes on the Isthmus of Panama & Darien, Also on the River St. Juan, Lakes of Nicaragua, &c., with Reference to a Railroad and Canal for Joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans With Original Maps and Plans By George Peacock · 1879 ISBN:9780913129203, 0913129208; Page count:96; Published:1879; Format:Paperback; Publisher:La Tienda El Quetzal; Original from:Northwestern University; Digitized:June 24, 2011; Language:English; Author:George Peacock // "While it would seem that the judges have a long vacation each year, they actually have a sort of "busman's holiday" in that they take their "homework" with them. They study applications for review during the summer recess."