Idiom
busman's holiday
Meaning
A holiday or vacation during which one does something similar to what one does as work.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“For a busman's holiday, the chef cooked dinner at the beach house.”
“The mechanic fixes his friend's car on a busman's holiday.”
“A pilot flies a small plane for fun on a busman's holiday.”
“The teacher spent her summer break tutoring her niece, which felt like a busman's holiday.”
“The professional gardener spent his entire week off pulling weeds and planting flowers in his own backyard, turning his vacation into a busman's holiday.”
“After a long year of writing news reports, the journalist spent her winter break finishing a novel, which felt like a busman's holiday.”
“The architect, unable to stop designing, found himself sketching floor plans during his Mediterranean cruise — a true busman's holiday that his wife found both amusing and exhausting.”
Examples
simple
“For a busman's holiday, the chef cooked dinner at the beach house.”
“The mechanic fixes his friend's car on a busman's holiday.”
“A pilot flies a small plane for fun on a busman's holiday.”
contextual
“The teacher spent her summer break tutoring her niece, which felt like a busman's holiday.”
“The professional gardener spent his entire week off pulling weeds and planting flowers in his own backyard, turning his vacation into a busman's holiday.”
“After a long year of writing news reports, the journalist spent her winter break finishing a novel, which felt like a busman's holiday.”
complex
“The architect, unable to stop designing, found himself sketching floor plans during his Mediterranean cruise — a true busman's holiday that his wife found both amusing and exhausting.”
Origin
From *busman* + *-’s* + *holiday*. The term derives from the notion of a bus driver choosing to spend his leisure time by taking an excursion on a bus or embarking on a long drive. He would thereby engage in an activity nearly identical to his professional duties.
Key words
Related idioms
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