By Ladybungi Amang
Submitted 2012-01-29 00:02:50
Total Word Count: 770 Number Of Times Read: 11
A busman's holiday in many respects is no holiday at all. A number of people, most notably those with high profile careers or jobs with major responsibilities, simply dread the idea of taking vacations. They often feel mixed emotions about taking so much time away from their professional duties. The result is usually called a busman's holiday, in which the person spends his or her vacation time doing the same activities as he or she does for a living. A physician, for example, may take a busman's holiday to work in a free clinic in a Third World country.
Taking a busman's holiday may be viewed by others as taking no vacation at all, but for some people the thought of working voluntarily can indeed be a welcome change in their routines. A busman's holiday often allows professionals to experience life from the perspective of their clients or customers. Instead of driving a bus for a living, a vacationing bus driver can ride the bus as a regular passenger and enjoy the scenery.
Another theory also has a few supporters in the etymology world. The term "busman's holiday" could have nothing to do with professional bus drivers after all. During the same time period as the horse-drawn omnibuses, teams of pickpockets worked the streets of London. One team member would distract the victim by engaging in conversation, while his or her partner picked the victim's wallet. The slang term for the chattier of the two pickpockets was buzzman or buzman. It is thought by some etymologists that a "buzman's holiday" would be no holiday at all, since criminals rarely take a break from criminal activity. Eventually the term would be changed to the more acceptable "busman's holiday," complete with a plausible alternative origin.
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Submitted 2012-01-29 00:02:50
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