staycation
BBC Learning English
6 Minute English
Staycation
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 1 of 5
Kate: Hello, I'm Kate Colin and today I'm joined by Jackie Dalton. Hi Jackie.
Jackie: Hi Kate
Kate: Jackie, I believe you've just got back from holiday haven't you. How was it?
Jackie: It was great thank you - I had a very relaxing time. I did lots of reading and
some skiing.
Kate: Sounds wonderful, but these days more and more of us are considering
whether we can actually justify the cost of a holiday abroad and the idea of
going absolutely nowhere is actually becoming quite appealing. A 'staycation'
is a new phrase which is combination of the expressions 'stay' (at home)' and
'vacation'.
Jackie: Well, yes I have heard of staycations, but to be honest I can't say it is
something that really appeals to me because I like going on holiday to see
other cultures, to listen to new languages and eat different food. Just to get
away from my normal day to day life once in a while. I think that's what
holidays are about.
Kate: Well to some people it is, but before we go any further, I'm going to ask my
question for this week. Which country is the top European location for British
people to go on holiday at the moment?
a) Spain
b) France
c) Turkey
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 2 of 5
Jackie: answers
Kate: Good answer; we'll check if you're correct in a few minutes. But first here’s a
lady who really likes staycations. Why does she prefer to stay at home?
Clip 1
If you take your 2 weeks off and just stay at home and do what you like, it's so much more
liberating than going away somewhere new and not having your own things around and
having the pressure to explore all this new stuff. It's just a winner; I don’t understand why
more people don't do it.
Jackie: She said that staying at home is much more liberating than going away. If
something is 'liberating' it makes you feel free and able to do what you like. She
goes on to say that going on holiday means that you don't have your own things
around you and there's lots of pressure to explore. She says that staying at home is
a 'winner' (which means a very good thing) and she can't understand why more
people don't do it!
Kate: Now we're going to hear from someone with the opposite point of view. She uses
the phrase 'contradiction in terms' which means to say a combination of things
which don't make sense as they often have opposite meanings. She also uses the
term 'same old, same old' which you often hear when people talk about always
doing the same thing. Listen out for it in the following extract…
Clip 2
Well to me, holidaying at home is a complete contradiction in terms. When you stay at
home you know it's the same old, same old and it just underpins the whole beauty of having
that energizing break and doing something entirely different.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 3 of 5
Jackie: Well, she said that she thinks holidaying at home is a contradiction in terms –
it doesn't make sense. She thinks that taking a holiday is about getting away
from your usual routine of being at home which she describes as 'the same old,
same old'. I suppose she's referring to the everyday jobs of housework and
shopping and things like that. She says this underpins the whole beauty of
going away. Underpins means to give strength or support to something, so
here the fact that there's always so much to do when you stay at home, supports
or underpins her argument that we need to go away on holiday once in a while.
Kate: Let's go back to the first lady we heard from. Here she gives some other
reasons why she prefers not to go away. She uses the term 'peace of mind'.
What does this mean?
Jackie: 'peace of mind' is when you can relax because you don’t have to worry about
anything.
Clip 3
On the rare occasions that I have gone on a proper holiday, the amount of work you have to
do to go away and enjoy peace of mind, totally negates the benefit of the holiday to me.
Jackie: She says that all the effort you have to go to make sure you can enjoy peace
of mind, negates the benefit of the holiday. I suppose she means that she
spends a lot of time making sure her house is locked properly and things to
make sure that she won't have to worry about anything going wrong while
she's away. She says this negates the benefit of a holiday. To negate means
to cancel out the effect of something, so all the worry related to going on
holiday negates the good things about holidays.
Kate: Let's hear what the second lady has to say in reply…she uses the word
'anticipation'. What does this mean?
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 4 of 5
Jackie: 'anticipation' means to look forward to something. You'll also hear the
expression 'Groundhog Day'. In this context, this is a term which we
sometimes use when referring to doing the same thing over and over again.
It comes from a film called 'Groundhog Day' starring Bill Murray and Andie
MacDowell, and the film features a man who finds himself living the same
day over and over again. Now the expression has made its way into the
English language to describe something which is the same everyday. So if
you had a job where it seems you're doing the same thing day after day, you
could say it was like 'Groundhog Day'.
Clip 4
It's like anything in life you either approach it positively or negatively. I think part of the
beauty of a holiday is the anticipation. I know it's stressful preparing for a holiday but it's
quite exciting too and I think we need it because when we do the same things day after day,
life becomes like Groundhog Day and one of the great beauties underpinning that is to go
on holiday.
Kate: What do you think Jackie? Are you tempted to have a 'staycation' next time
you want a holiday?
Jackie: Well, having heard both sides of the argument, I can understand the reasons
for staying at home but I'm afraid I like to travel too much and I don't think
I'll be taking a staycation this year.
Kate: So let's have a look the words we came across earlier in the programme:
We had:
staycation
liberating
a contradiction in terms
same old, same old
to underpin
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 5 of 5
peace of mind
negates
anticipation
Groundhog Day
Kate: Finally to the question I asked earlier. I asked you which county is the top
European location for British people to go on holiday at the moment.
Jackie: …and I said Spain.
Kate: I'm afraid you were wrong. You were nearly right, but it is in fact Turkey.
Both: That's all for this week. Goodbye!
6 Minute English
Staycation
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 1 of 5
Kate: Hello, I'm Kate Colin and today I'm joined by Jackie Dalton. Hi Jackie.
Jackie: Hi Kate
Kate: Jackie, I believe you've just got back from holiday haven't you. How was it?
Jackie: It was great thank you - I had a very relaxing time. I did lots of reading and
some skiing.
Kate: Sounds wonderful, but these days more and more of us are considering
whether we can actually justify the cost of a holiday abroad and the idea of
going absolutely nowhere is actually becoming quite appealing. A 'staycation'
is a new phrase which is combination of the expressions 'stay' (at home)' and
'vacation'.
Jackie: Well, yes I have heard of staycations, but to be honest I can't say it is
something that really appeals to me because I like going on holiday to see
other cultures, to listen to new languages and eat different food. Just to get
away from my normal day to day life once in a while. I think that's what
holidays are about.
Kate: Well to some people it is, but before we go any further, I'm going to ask my
question for this week. Which country is the top European location for British
people to go on holiday at the moment?
a) Spain
b) France
c) Turkey
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 2 of 5
Jackie: answers
Kate: Good answer; we'll check if you're correct in a few minutes. But first here’s a
lady who really likes staycations. Why does she prefer to stay at home?
Clip 1
If you take your 2 weeks off and just stay at home and do what you like, it's so much more
liberating than going away somewhere new and not having your own things around and
having the pressure to explore all this new stuff. It's just a winner; I don’t understand why
more people don't do it.
Jackie: She said that staying at home is much more liberating than going away. If
something is 'liberating' it makes you feel free and able to do what you like. She
goes on to say that going on holiday means that you don't have your own things
around you and there's lots of pressure to explore. She says that staying at home is
a 'winner' (which means a very good thing) and she can't understand why more
people don't do it!
Kate: Now we're going to hear from someone with the opposite point of view. She uses
the phrase 'contradiction in terms' which means to say a combination of things
which don't make sense as they often have opposite meanings. She also uses the
term 'same old, same old' which you often hear when people talk about always
doing the same thing. Listen out for it in the following extract…
Clip 2
Well to me, holidaying at home is a complete contradiction in terms. When you stay at
home you know it's the same old, same old and it just underpins the whole beauty of having
that energizing break and doing something entirely different.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 3 of 5
Jackie: Well, she said that she thinks holidaying at home is a contradiction in terms –
it doesn't make sense. She thinks that taking a holiday is about getting away
from your usual routine of being at home which she describes as 'the same old,
same old'. I suppose she's referring to the everyday jobs of housework and
shopping and things like that. She says this underpins the whole beauty of
going away. Underpins means to give strength or support to something, so
here the fact that there's always so much to do when you stay at home, supports
or underpins her argument that we need to go away on holiday once in a while.
Kate: Let's go back to the first lady we heard from. Here she gives some other
reasons why she prefers not to go away. She uses the term 'peace of mind'.
What does this mean?
Jackie: 'peace of mind' is when you can relax because you don’t have to worry about
anything.
Clip 3
On the rare occasions that I have gone on a proper holiday, the amount of work you have to
do to go away and enjoy peace of mind, totally negates the benefit of the holiday to me.
Jackie: She says that all the effort you have to go to make sure you can enjoy peace
of mind, negates the benefit of the holiday. I suppose she means that she
spends a lot of time making sure her house is locked properly and things to
make sure that she won't have to worry about anything going wrong while
she's away. She says this negates the benefit of a holiday. To negate means
to cancel out the effect of something, so all the worry related to going on
holiday negates the good things about holidays.
Kate: Let's hear what the second lady has to say in reply…she uses the word
'anticipation'. What does this mean?
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 4 of 5
Jackie: 'anticipation' means to look forward to something. You'll also hear the
expression 'Groundhog Day'. In this context, this is a term which we
sometimes use when referring to doing the same thing over and over again.
It comes from a film called 'Groundhog Day' starring Bill Murray and Andie
MacDowell, and the film features a man who finds himself living the same
day over and over again. Now the expression has made its way into the
English language to describe something which is the same everyday. So if
you had a job where it seems you're doing the same thing day after day, you
could say it was like 'Groundhog Day'.
Clip 4
It's like anything in life you either approach it positively or negatively. I think part of the
beauty of a holiday is the anticipation. I know it's stressful preparing for a holiday but it's
quite exciting too and I think we need it because when we do the same things day after day,
life becomes like Groundhog Day and one of the great beauties underpinning that is to go
on holiday.
Kate: What do you think Jackie? Are you tempted to have a 'staycation' next time
you want a holiday?
Jackie: Well, having heard both sides of the argument, I can understand the reasons
for staying at home but I'm afraid I like to travel too much and I don't think
I'll be taking a staycation this year.
Kate: So let's have a look the words we came across earlier in the programme:
We had:
staycation
liberating
a contradiction in terms
same old, same old
to underpin
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2009
Page 5 of 5
peace of mind
negates
anticipation
Groundhog Day
Kate: Finally to the question I asked earlier. I asked you which county is the top
European location for British people to go on holiday at the moment.
Jackie: …and I said Spain.
Kate: I'm afraid you were wrong. You were nearly right, but it is in fact Turkey.
Both: That's all for this week. Goodbye!
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