If you're American, is saying "I'm on holiday" pretentious?

With much of the nation under close to stay at home orders and the virus going rampant, going on either holiday or vacation is pretentious.

Yes.

I concur with R2.

Yes.

Yes it's pretentious because it's not the normally acceptable term in the US. Don't get above your raisin'.

Yes, and add double-pretentious points if you use "whilst" in addition. "Traveling the Amalfi coast whilst on holiday."

Definitely. Don't do it.

Sounds like something Madonna would say.

[quote]If you're American, is saying "I'm on holiday" pretentious?

You're on the Datalounge. EVERYTHING you say is pretentious.

No but using it as verb does sound pretentious.

OP: they should say "on my hollies."

Many American expats in Ireland, where I live, love to say "cheers" to mean "thanks." I've noticed they start using it within weeks of arriving here.

If you winter in Eleuthera, if you summer in Deer Isle, that's just grand (provided you really do winter and summer, not take a AirBnB for a three-day weekend.)

Holiday as a verb is to be avoided.

But holiday/s as a noun is fine.

Vacation is a lovely concept but an ugly word, particularly with an American accent.

I’m a dual US/UK and code switch depending on the audience. I’d never say ‘on holiday’ for ‘on vacation’ in the US. It’s not so much pretentious as confusing because the connotations differ between the countries. It comes across like those people who went on a month abroad study program and came back with an affected Transatlantic accent. When in Rome and all that.

On holz!

I've noticed that many British, Irish, and other European media have adopted "staycation" since the pandemic.

Yes, it is pretentious. It's also pretentious to call the trash "rubbish".

As well as saying "uni" for university/college. A friend spent ONE semester abroad, and came back and constantly threw the word "uni" into conversations. It sounded so ridiculous and desperate.

Unfortunately, I'm on holiday in hospital.

[quote]Traveling the Amalfi coast whilst on holiday.

You are missing an L, pleb.

R18, do so maths to pass the time.

It's V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N.

The idea of Americans using British English being "pretentious" dates back to the pre-Brexit days, when Britain (and everything British) still carried some prestige. Now, an American saying "holiday" is merely eccentric or confusing.

R19 Where is an L missing?

TRAVELLING

Yes. You’re not British

R11, or "on my jollies".

R11 Yeah, they're in the US, also. Apparently, saying "cheers" instead of thanks makes them feel more Citizens of the World.

[quote] add double-pretentious points if you use "whilst" in addition

Lol. I had a colleague use that in an email. I thought he was joking, but he's a Brit and said it's common there.

“Vacation” is so pedestrian. I’m just trying to raise the level of my much needed. holiday abroad so that you don’t think I went camping in the Ozarks.

No One Does Family Holidays Quite Like The Beckhams:

R21 It's all I ever wanted

The original.

During the long vacation Charles and I shared a basket of strawberries and a bottle of Château Peyraguey — which isn't a wine you've ever tasted, so don't pretend.

I have a cousin who has never left Yonkers, NY. She constantly uses Britishisms: “in hospital,” etc. She calls her primary care physician her “GP.” I think she read a lot of English children’s books.

It's funny what Americans find to be pretentious.

It's terribly pretentious. A good friend is British and the whilst makes me laugh every times he says it which is often.

R33 I've had that wine quite often the past year and a half. It's quite inexpensive actually. Who drinks Sauterne with strawberries anyhow? This is the stuff one tries to get down with the foie gras.

R32 — The original. r21

The poster was quoting Waugh, R37.

But you call your public days off holidays? Make up your fucking minds.

Oh and invent your own goddam language instead of changing a few works and spellings and calling it American English.

"I attend university" is also pretentious in America.

I'll laugh when Americans start referring to "bank holidays."

I say “Oi! fit builder” instead of “Yo! hot construction worker!” Am I pretentious?

I'm on holiday for a fortnight in Jersey.

No, R44, you are a Datalounger.

Holiday comes from the term Holy Day. So yes it’s pretentious for anyone to suggest their going to Six Flags is a Holy Day.

R38, you're right, sorry, I didn't see it when scrolling down.

Less pretentious, more pathetic

Is it any more pretentiousness than turning "summer" into a verb?

This thread is funny because most UK people on holiday are anything but glamorous or refined. Many go to affordable family options like Butlin’s. Go to Gatwick, Stansted or Luton on any day and see mass departures on all inclusive budget holidays to interchangeable beach destinations where many never leave to explore the local culture. Costa del Bargain. Americans have seen too many British period dramas.

LIke this R51?

[quote]Many American expats in Ireland, where I live, love to say "cheers" to mean "thanks."

Any person in America who says "cheers" instead of "thanks" is guaranteed to be an asshole.

What about saying "ciao"?

Mum and I are going on holiday at the weekend. Pip! pip! Cheers! x

Yeah, next thing you know they'll be using the loo or water closet.

I once worked with a British lawyer (sorry, solicitrix) who wrote “[an agreement] between ourselves and yourselves...”

I changed it to “between us and you” and she rolled her eyes. She also told me that she had “binned” my draft document when I asked for it.

Right royal c___ she was.

[quote] Americans have seen too many British period dramas.

Maybe. Because this is what I imagine, R51.

Then again, the British think that Americans speak a bastardized form of the English language.

I thought I read an article that the form of English that they currently speak in GB is not what it originally sounded like. I can't find the article, but I did find this.

How great the distance between imagination and reality, R58.

In American slang, it is known as "pretentious AF"

What if you say "ta" for "thanks"?

That's pitiful, R63. What are you, an Irish granny?

Americans have a very strange idea of how British people speak.

I’ve lived here nearly 40 years and have never heard anyone say “Pip! Pip!”.

I get all my impressions of the English from this.

‘Ta’ for ‘thanks’ is baby speak. We might use it in very informal situations among family or friends but it’s meant kind of jokingly. We’d never use it when thanking someone we don’t know. It’s kind of used when a full ‘thank you’ or ‘thanks’ isn’t required. Like if someone passed you the salt at the dinner table or something like that. You wouldn’t use it in a shop or bar or whatever.

R60 obviously it has evolved. Try reading an English book published 200 years ago.

Sometimes the British version sounds flat-out ridiculous. I was watching a detective show where they kept referring to the outdoor trash can as a "wheelie-bin". Not to mention "spag-bol". Is it really so hard to say "spaghetti Bolognese"? Spag Bol doesn't sound appetizing, or even like food. I'm sure a lot of American sayings sound foolish to Brits too, just saying.

R69 How stupid are you? A wheelie bin isn't a 'trash can'. It's a bin. On wheels.

On the detective show I was watching, a child had been murdered and stuffed into an OUTDOOR TRASH CAN ON WHEELS. The cops all kept referring to as a WHEELIE BIN. Did I stutter? Are you not able to read English? Or are you just as dumb fucking asshole? See below, idiot.

Poor R70 doesn't understand what a TRASH CAN is.

Here you go fucking moron at R70.

[quote]Spag Bol doesn't sound appetizing, or even like food.

And who among us does not prefer Tag Bol?

R71 A wheelie bin is a very specific type of bin. You're criticising British English without understanding what the term 'wheelie bin' means. If someone just said 'bin' it would mean a different type of bin. Can you get your head around that?

Linking to an American English dictionary isn't helping your case since you're talking about British English usage.

There are plenty of Americanisms that sound strange to English ears. Why are you lot even discussing this? It’s pointless.

Aren't wheelie bins those things they have outside the cookie-cutter housettes in deepest suburban Las Vegas on CSI?

cele--BRAY-EETE

No, just highly stupid.

I always make sure to carry my expensive Holiday Brochures. The Orient Express and the QE2 are just a couple to name.As long as you have the Brochures to show people, there will be no issue.

I think so. I have a friend who lived in London for a few years, and now uses subtle Britishisms. If you ask him "did you do the dishes" he'll reply, "I have done." I know he thinks sophisticates will pick up on it. There are other affectations he uses, haven't seen him in ages so can't think of them right now.

Je suis en vacances.

I'm going to disagree and say that it depends. If we're talking about time-off when Americans have national holidays, then I think it is fine to say "when we get back from the holiday" - particularly at work.

But when you're talking about your regular vacation, then say vacation. This is why I find Brits' usage of the term confusing and incomplete. However, if you are on vacation in the UK, then it's perfectly fine to say you're on holiday.

And for those Americans that adopt Brit-speak, one thing I notice they NEVER adopt - they never start using 'reckon', which is common in UK English.

For many American ears, 'reckon' has a bad association with uneducated and lower class people. THAT word never gets picked up by Americans.

Holidays are special days in America, it doesn't mean vacation. Do they say, "I'm going on holiday on the holiday," in the U.K.? We will say, "I'm going on vacation on the holiday".

What do they call actual holidays in Britain?

We never use the word 'vacation'. You'd be laughed at if you did.

We say we're going on holiday if we're going away somewhere or we're on holiday if we're on annual leave from work. We never say 'Happy Holidays!" when we're talking about Christmas or Easter or any other seasonal event. Apart from Bank Holidays, we don't describe what you would describe as holidays 'holidays'. I understand it's complicated.

R85 - a lot of holidays are called 'bank' holidays - which is just ridiculous and offensive to my ears. Is it all about the banks? What do banks have to do with creating or legislating holidays?

Truly fucked up. To me, this is where the UK English really falls short.

In London a couple years ago I saw “the festive season” used in advertising as a generic, secular reference to the Christmas season, much in the same way Americans would say, “the holiday season.”

I've adopted the British, "Happy Christmas" instead of "Merry Christmas" during the holidays. I just think it sounds better and I don't care if people think it's pretentious.

A family member came back (to the US) from a trip to western Europe. Suddenly, this right-handed person was using his left hand to eat. Still does that. Also pronounces "croissant" "kwa-sahnt." OMG.

How do you pronounce croissant R90?

[quote] For many American ears, 'reckon' has a bad association with uneducated and lower class people.

That's a perfect example of how many Old English words were preserved by Hillbillies because of their isolation for many years. "Kin" is another.

Like an American, R91. My first language is English and I've studied other languages as well (not fluent, though). Lots of words are "mispronounced" when adopted by another country.

E.g., in France they don't enunciate the "S" in "Paris." However, while in the US, I'll pronounce it with the "S."

For those Americans who live in England, have you adopted an English accent? I've always wondered if I would gradually start using one if I were to move there. I love the sound of received pronunciation and I'm not sure I could resist using it. If you do start speaking with an English accent, do the English notice it when you do it or do they just accept it as a matter of course? I do know English people in the States who have largely begun using American accents except for a few words here and there.

I think if you, as an American, tried adopting the received pronunciation, you'd get made fun of. The English seem snobby about even other English people adopting the RP (if that's not your childhood way of speaking).

R94, subtle changes occur the longer you’re there. And everyday idioms and speech patterns will creep in. E.g., saying “cheers” for thank you, buying a “return” ticket rather than a round trip, writing the date using day/month/year format, using the perfect tense much more than you would in the US.

R95, only "colonials" like if you grew up in Lagos, are allowed to use RP

Received Pronunciation is the type of English one hears on Downton Abbey, correct?

You'll be viewed with deep suspicion if you speak pure RP. Unless you're on the news or on the stage, no-one speaks pure RP. Everyone in the UK has a regional accent of some kind.

Yes, R98. From the upstairs people (Lady Mary, etc.), not the downstairs people (Daisy, etc.).

It's such a beautiful accent. English spoken perfectly.

One thing I don't like about received pronunciation is how the Gs are dropped. For example: "anything" becomes "anythin'."

R102 wtf? What RP have you been listening to?

it was received on Eastenders, R103. At the Queen Vic.

Some of you need to take a holiday from this website. By the way Canadians say it as well. I do too. If you think it’s pretentious you can kiss my ass. By the way it’s a nice one

From my earliest days, I'd wait with breathless anticipation for the top of the hour & "this is London" on BBC World Service on my short wave radio (tube type); being in the country it was my only link to civilization . . . fast forward & I was working at a British-owned cruise line & learned very soon that my global correspondents understood "international/British English" predominately, so "holiday" was in our everyday conversation.

I think it really depends on the environment/audience, as anyone who has worked in an international firm knows quite well. Some of our Americanisms are not understood well, while International English usually is. That being said, I think both side can be provincial/pretentious about certain cherished words/phrases.

I love to listen to the late 20s--40s actors accents on film; in many cases it seems not to matter too much what side of the Atlantic they came from but I also think that that way of speaking is almost extinct; many people can't understand what they're saying. In some years, people will be saying the same about us, no matter where we hail from.

I can see that, R96. But one should drop it once one moves back to America.

Whilst I naturally have no objections to Americans having their own version of English, as do so many places in the world that we have exported it to, nothing makes me mentally vomit and wish harm upon a colleague at work more than one who has reached, unpacked, circled around or any other number of pointless phrases stolen from the US when there was a perfectly good phrase or word that pre-existed.

As to vacation, it's an old word from middle-English that we've stopped using in favour of holiday that US have maintained, and the bank holiday is not hard to work out, it was a day that banks (and the Bank of England) was allowed to close without penalty, then there are public holidays such as Good Friday or New Years day. To throw a spanner into the works, we also have leave, which we book off so that we can go on holiday.

Yes.

I had a boss who spent some time in London for business and she came back using some British terms. She would say “Just running off to the toilet” and she called someone’s handbag “grotty”.

I lived in London for awhile and this one very cunty woman I knew always said “ta very much” instead of thank you.

R16 Greeting Card Cover: "I Thought Of You Today." Inside: "I Took Out the Trash."

R109 I hate that use of the word "toilet." My mother was British and when we'd visit during my childhood, I remember being grossed out when people would talk about "going to the toilet." It seemed so graphic, eww. One instance where the English sound more crass than Americans.

Agree, R112.

R112/R113, there's also the shock of hearing "toilet" used as a verb. "I stop off every morning at this time to toilet my mum. The carers help her in her toileting at other times."

Ick.

[quote]That's a perfect example of how many Old English words were preserved by Hillbillies because of their isolation for many years. "Kin" is another.

"Fetch" is another.

I had a work friend from England who said "bath the baby". as an American, I say bathe the baby

Maths.

When other motorists started hooting their klaxons, I realised I was orientated wrong whilst on the dual carriageway. Oh bother!

Never heard toilet used as a verb, you use a toilet or go to the toilet and when in someone's house and being polite you'd ask to use the bathroom, if you're around a friends house you would just announce the action, "I'm going for a piss", or any number of variations of 'dropping the kids off at the pool'...

Might find some elderly well to do person enquiring about using the lavatory, but in reality words like that, and WC etc are the sort of things you hear in something black and white.

R119: I've heard toilet as a verb a number of times. And I don't think it will ever not rattle my head to hear such a thing. It's such a vulgar thing ("Does your mother need to make toilet?" "Do you toilet her at home or is she able to do for herself?") from the whole social work and nursing attendant carer baby talk culture where patients are spoken of as if they were sacks of meat, but with a slightly fawning way to show that they are in the profession of caring.

My friend from Norway used say "go to the toilet." In Japan, they say "toi-re" for bathroom. If you want to be super polite, you say "otearai" (place to wash hands).

I've lived in the UK my entire life, that being Monmouthshire, Kent, Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Shetland and I've never heard it used like that R120, it just sounds odd reading it never mind saying it, maybe it's a regional thing that I've not manage to stumble across.

"Et," as a past tense of "eat," is another English word that's used both in contemporary England and the US South, e.g., "I et two eggs for breakfast." I'd only heard Southern hillbillies use that word until I went to England and heard the upper crust saying it. I was gobsmacked.

A place where you shit and piss is a toilet, not a restroom.

[quote] "Et," as a past tense of "eat..."

r123, There is a very old joke about two ancient Appalachian ladies in their rocking chairs, sitting on the front and porch and wistfully reminiscing:

"Eudora, do you remember the minuet"?

"Edna Earle, I barely remember the men I married."

Et? You mean Ate surely R123?

No, "et." After hearing it said more than once in England, I asked the speaker to spell it. He spelled it "E.T." and went on to explain that it was just another way of saying "ate."

I’m a Brit and have never heard toilet being used as a verb.

[quote] A place where you shit and piss is a toilet, not a restroom.

No, the toilet is the thing you shit and piss in, the room itself is a restroom or bathroom. ("Restroom" is usually used in commercial places; "bathroom" for home.)

Well, never to knowingly be ignorant, checked online and I dug out my 1928 Dictionary and no mention of 'Et' as the past tense of eat, only 'ate' as I suggested, I thought that maybe someone was pulling your leg R127, but no, other references backed up what you say, so I stand corrected.

I call it the loo just to piss Americans off.

[quote]I call it the loo just to piss Americans off.

Americans do get very put out when they hear or spot an American at anything Euro and, by extension, fancy.

I know, r130, isn't that weird? The strange thing is, while my months in England took me to many different diverse communities, it was the UPPER CLASS Brits who said "et;" the contrast being that in the US, it's the hillbillies who say it, and in England, it's the upper crust. Go figure!

The upper class have their own language, and I do not mean RP either, as one of the hoi polloi I only actually know one person (an ex) who is proper old money, the sort that says 'ears' instead of yes, and 'feckt-tory' for factory...

[quote]The upper class have their own language, and I do not mean RP either, as one of the hoi polloi I only actually know one person (an ex) who is proper old money, the sort that says 'ears' instead of yes, and 'feckt-tory' for factory...

Eww, THENK yew! I'm seww HEPPY!

Yeah, R134. I know EXECKTLY what yew mean!

That kind of stick-up-the-ass pronunciation is much uglier than RP.