British Slang For Vacation (8 Examples!)

Britain is a wonderful, rich and welcoming country with stunning vistas and sleepy seaside towns to match even the most desirable vacation location.

But at the same time, British people love to get away as much as anyone.

With that tends to be a lot of different words for describing going on holiday, so today we’re going to review some of the most common.

Let’s get started.

In This Article

Holiday

Starting off with what is doubtless the most common slang term for vacation in Britain, we have “holiday”.

This skirts the line of even being slang at all and most people wouldn’t think of it in this way.

“Holiday” is simply the word most people use for vacation in Britain–”vacation” is very rarely used at all and is considered a more American term.

So, for the most part, when people in Britain talk about going on vacation, they say they’re going “on holiday”.

“I’m on holiday from work for two weeks starting tomorrow, I can’t wait,” for example.

The history of this word is very interesting and often used as a case study in etymology.

Originally, the Old English word haligdaeg meant “holy day,” and specifically referred to days of the year when you might take a break from work for a religious observation such as Christmas or Easter.

By the 16th Century, it had come to have the broader meaning of any day that you are exempted from labor–and eventually from there an extended period of time away in another country or place.

Hols

Getting into what is definitely a slang term, next we have “hols”.

Plainly, this one is just a shortening of “holiday”, and it’s become extremely common since everyone can very easily understand what it means.

This one is used throughout Britain from Scotland through England and Wales, and everyone from old to young will understand what you mean when you use this term.

This one is usually reserved for going on an actual holiday, rather than just a day like a Bank Holiday when you get the day off work.

“We’ll be off on our hols this time next week, I can’t wait,” for example.

It’s hard to say when a simple abbreviation like this first arose, as it very well could have arisen independently in multiple different places and times.

We can say that it probably was not used much before the 20th Century, though we do have written examples from at least the 1950s.

This is a very common term, in any case, so we may never know where it first arose since it probably did so in the vernacular.

Holly-bobs/holibobs

Next we have “holly-bobs”, certainly a more regional but nonetheless commonly used slang term for vacation in Britain.

You’re more likely to hear this one in the north of England, though it is quite likely to be used elsewhere or at the very least intuitively understood.

By those who use it, it’s largely said with a kind of tongue-in-cheek attitude. It’s obviously a very childish-sounding phrase, and so definitely slang and not the kind of thing you’d use in a formal setting of any kind.

“I’m so jealous of you all going off on your holibobs,” for example.

This is perhaps the kind of thing you might most commonly use as a humorous way to say you’re jealous of a friend or coworker who is about to go on holiday while you have to stay at work.

Further than that, it’s difficult to say much about its origin.

It seems to be a north/northwest phrase and probably came into use in the latter half of the 20th Century.

Jollies

In a similar vein, another way you might say you’re going on vacation is to say you’re going “off on your jollies”.

This is a very similar expression as “holibobs” in the way it’s used.

It’s humorous and tongue-in-cheek, meant to sound childish and frivolous.

Much like “holibobs”, it might be the kind of thing you use when your coworker is going off on an exciting trip and you’ve got to stay in the office!

“Dan is going off on his jollies while the rest of have to stay here!” for example.

Naturally this idiom derives from the term “jolly”,meaning simply mirth or merrymaking.

That word itself comes from at least the 14th Century although doubtless earlier than that in the vernacular.

The precise etymology of this is unclear, though it probably derives ultimately from Latin.

However, when exactly this came to mean “holidays” is entirely lost to time.

It could be very old but it is more likely to be fairly recent.

Vacay

Next we have “vacay,” certainly a less quintessentially British slang phrase but one which has nonetheless firmly cemented itself in the British vernacular.

Originally North American and used in both Canada and the U.S., this one has since spread to Britain through film, television and, no doubt, social media.

It is very unlikely to be used by the older generations and is primarily something that younger people use.

“I’ll have to talk to you about that when I get home, I’m on vacay right now,” for example.

As far as we can tell, this term was not used at all if you go back around 20 years and perhaps even sooner than that.

The word itself, plainly, is just an abbreviation of the word “vacation”, and it is first attested in writing in the year 2000.

It was the kind of thing you might read in women’s magazines and similar publications.

Break

Another simple slang phrase people use for going on holiday in Britain is a “break”.

This can be used in a variety of contexts, such as scheduled time off school for the half term period and similar things.

In work, though, when you say you are “going on a break” it typically means you are taking a vacation somewhere, whether that’s a foreign or domestic vacation.

“I’m taking a weekend break in the mountains camping, I can’t wait,” for example.

Naturally, the word “break” is very old and derives ultimately from the Old English word brecan meaning simply to shatter to pieces.

In the 19th Century, though, the term started being used for the period of rest that students would get between lessons.

By 1911, it had come to mean a period of time taken off work to go on vacation.

Getaway

Next we have “getaway,” a slang term used in Britain typically referring to a short vacation taken over a long weekend or a similar amount of time.

It’s also usually a holiday you take domestically or at least to somewhere close by.

You might not actually take an extended amount of time off work, perhaps even just a half day before the weekend.

It’s used mostly in the south of England although you’ll hear it and be understood if you use it just about anywhere in Britain.

“We’re taking a romantic getaway to the Lake District for the weekend,” for example.

This term has its origins in fox hunting, of all strange things.

First attested in writing in 1852, and no doubt used in the vernacular long before that, it referred to when the fox would escape or make a “getaway” from the hunt.

By the 1890s, it had come to describe a criminal getaway after committing a crime.

When exactly it took on this modern meaning is not clear, though it seems to have been in the latter half of the 20th Century.

Staycation

Finally we have “staycation,” a term which has no doubt become a great deal more common in the last few years.

You’ll hear this one a lot in Britain and it refers to a holiday taken either at home or not very far from home–not a vacation where you leave the country.

In Britain this can refer to many different kinds of holiday, whether to one of Britain’s iconic seaside towns, its mountain wild districts or its big, metropolitan cities.

“Money is a bit tight this year so we’re just going to staycation in Morecambe,” for example.

The word is simply derived from “stay”, meaning remain, and a shortening of “vacation”.

Though it’s widely used in Britain today, it was originally an American term that arose during the Financial Crisis of 2008.

During that time, people found themselves with a lot less money to spend on vacations so they had to make do with something more modest.

It spread to Britain almost immediately.

There are many different ways you can take a vacation, then, and British slang has a word for just about all of them.

Whether you’re swanning off for weeks on the sunny beaches of Spain or just taking a weekend trip to camp in the hills, there’s a slang term to describe it in British English.

More in British Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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