We call them all "half term" here..

[Acc0untant]

And apparently I'm unreasonable. I see comment after comment about "it's not half term, that happens half way through each term" but ever since I was a child I, and everyone I know, calls each holiday a half term other than summer and Christmas. My parents and the parents of my friends (bearing in mind I'm in my 30s) have always done this.

Is it regional? I'm in the midlands. It's not just students/parents here, teachers use it this way, our school communications. Not even just my experience with one school, it was the same at my secondary school, my daughter's primary and secondary, my other child's nursery etc.

For us this is because we have a holiday after every half of a term, not that the holiday is half way within the term.

I appreciate that this wasn't the original intention of the phrase but at what point do we accept it's fine to use? Same as staycation originally meaning to do day trips from home rather than a UK holiday, it's now been used for both for so long that it's colloquially acceptable for both meanings.

Please no bun fights, I can't be bothered. I appreciate the pedantry with things such as this (and I can be that way with other stuff) but I'd really just like a nice, chilled conversation about it.

Do you say half term for almost all holidays? What region are you from? Would enjoy seeing if there's a correlation.

Dare I admit that at work there is a calender with the 'Christmss Half Term' dates marked....

Exactly the same as you, OP, & midlands originally also. I'm in cornwall now for some 20yrs & in tourism it generally gets referred to as half term too 🤷🏼

It must be regional because I’ve only ever referred to the week long holidays halfway through term as half term. Christmas and Easter are not half term holidays!

I’ve grown up with Christmas holidays, Easter holidays and Summer holidays as the longer breaks between terms and half term for the week break in the middle of a term.

People aren't necessarily uneducated when they do things like that, I think it's unfair to say so.

My northern Irish friends all say "I've went" rather than "I went" or "I have gone." They're all educated, most of them to a higher level than me or anyone else I know. It's not just one or two of them but almost all of them that say it.

I've the equivalent of a masters and still can't use effect/affect correctly. I'm not uneducated, people just get into habits based on their environment and their upbringing.

How could you possibly know that? Is there some kind of survey or enforced use of incorrect terms?

I’m from Hertfordshire ( living in Yorkshire). We always used to call the May / June half term holiday “ Whitsun”, when I was at school. I work in school now and it’s just called “Spring half term”.

If everyone was the same language would be boring.

My family in Yorkshire say "9 while 5" rather than "9 to 5" or "9 until 5" and I find it baffling but love how different we all are. According to my niece they all say it at school so I assume that's regional too.

My husband calls them all half term, as long as I know which “half term” he means I wouldn’t nit pick but it is a mild irritation 😂

my mum always called may half term Whitsun week!

It would be boring and the pendants would have no one to look down at!

Same here - in Scotland its

Christmas Holidays - 2 ish weeks
February Break - 2/3 days
Easter Holidays - 2 weeks (may or may not occur at Easter)
May is just 1 bank holiday and we couldn't have a holiday then cause its in the middle of exams
Summer Holidays - 6/7 weeks
October Holidays - 2 weeks

And apart from Christmas they all take place at different times and of different durations to rest of UK

The May holiday was always Whit Week in the North West, where I grew up.

When I was about 15, my Nan's dog was playing with one of those dog toys where they have to work to get the treat out, and I said "Aw, that's wicked"

My Nan looked offended and said "No, it's not! she likes it!"

No amount of explaining could convince her I wasn't accusing her of animal cruelty 😄

I haven't used the word since! 😄

Christmas holidays, Feb half term, Easter holidays, Whit, Summer holidays, October half term (I'm from up north)

I'm a pedant with a lot of stuff, just usually quietly seeth about it instead of publicly shaming someone over the internet lol

Yes exactly the same here.

I do that too but im also in the midlands

I’m south coast. I never heard anyone misname Easter Holidays as half term in real life.

Only ever seen it on Mumsnet.

It's not really Easter holidays either, it's more 'Spring holiday'. This year the two week Spring holiday doesn't even contain Easter. It technically ends on Friday. Just throwing that out there.

Another good point. Our holidays end this Friday but my niece's and nephew's actually ended last Friday. They've been back at school this week!

I'm south coast here too, and people misname them all the time. It's so annoying, especially when it's summer holidays.

I mean, how the hell can the summer holidays possibly be half term? It's the end of the entire year, never mind the term, and you know this 😁What is it half of?!

I love the beauty of regional accents and dialects. I have extended family in the NE of Scotland and its great learning new words and laughing about our differences.

But half term being used for all holidays is like saying ha'penny for penny. If people use it interchangeably, well I its pretty inconsequential, but lets not pretend it is correct or regional.

It's a bit odd. The word "half" has no meaning if you use it for every holiday. And every school works as 3 terms surely? I suspect some super cool mum got it wrong and then gradually a following took over in your region 🤣 It makes absolutely no sense. But to be honest who has time to care?

We are half way through and the kids go back to school on Easter Monday.

Easter is not half-term. This incorrect usage of ‘half-term’ has spread to all parts of the country now. I have heard teachers in London use it.

It is all part of the general dumbing-down of language. Nobody cares much about literacy any more.