busman's holiday

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

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

busman's holiday (plural busman's holidays)

1. (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."