businessman's holiday
LowInformal, Idiomatic
Definition
Meaning
A vacation during which a person continues to engage in work-related activities, such as checking emails, making calls, or attending to business matters.
Any period nominally dedicated to leisure or rest that is instead partly or fully occupied by the demands and routines of one's profession, undermining the intended purpose of a break.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Used humorously or critically. The phrase implies a failure to truly disconnect from work. While 'businessman' is gendered, the concept is increasingly applied to any professional (e.g., 'businessperson's holiday').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Concept and phrase are identical in both varieties. The possessive form ('businessman's') is standard in both.
Connotations
Identical connotations of irony and mild criticism in both dialects.
Frequency
Equally low frequency in both UK and US English; it's a set phrase, not common in everyday conversation.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
to have a businessman's holidayit was a businessman's holidayto turn X into a businessman's holidayVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “busman's holiday (a more common, established idiom with a similar but broader meaning)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used informally among colleagues to describe someone who cannot switch off.
Academic
Rare; might appear in sociology or business studies discussing work-life balance.
Everyday
Used in personal conversations to describe an unsuccessful attempt at a holiday.
Technical
Not used in technical contexts.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- He managed to businessman's-holiday his way through Tenerife.
American English
- She totally businessman's-holidayed that ski trip.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- His holiday was not fun. He worked every day. It was a businessman's holiday.
- I planned a week off, but with all the client calls, it felt like a businessman's holiday.
- Despite being in the Alps, he spent the mornings on conference calls, turning it into a classic businessman's holiday.
- The CEO's purported safari retreat was merely a businessman's holiday, replete with satellite internet for round-the-clock dealmaking.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a businessman on a beach, but his sun lounger is a desk chair and his palm tree holds a laptop instead of coconuts. The 'holiday' is in name only.
Conceptual Metaphor
LEISURE IS WORK (A deviation from the conventional LIFE IS A JOURNEY / HOLIDAY IS A DESTINATION metaphor).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation ("отпуск бизнесмена") as it loses the ironic meaning and would imply a holiday owned by or designed for a businessman, not a failed holiday. The Russian idiom "каникулы без отрыва от производства" captures a similar idea.
Common Mistakes
- Using it to simply mean 'a holiday taken by a businessman'. Failing to use the possessive 's'. Confusing it with the more common 'busman's holiday'.
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary implication of a 'businessman's holiday'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
They are similar but not identical. A 'busman's holiday' is leisure time spent doing something similar to your job (e.g., a chef cooking at home). A 'businessman's holiday' specifically involves doing your actual work during a holiday.
Yes, the concept applies to anyone. While the phrase is gendered, in modern usage it is understood to refer to any professional. Alternatives like 'businessperson's holiday' are sometimes used.
No, it is an informal, idiomatic expression used primarily in spoken or casual written English.
The tone is usually humorous, ironic, or lightly critical, pointing out the contradiction between the supposed holiday and the reality of continued work.