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.

Whereas you are coming across as extremely ignorant of how language works.

South East here… Easter holidays, Summer holidays, Christmas and the rest half term as they aren’t for an occasion.. surely makes sense?!

Nope. We have terms 1-6.. yet still have three “half term” breaks. Makes no bloody sense!!

Whit week was used back in the 60s/70s (and before)

I’m interested in finding out which areas of Scotland call the October holiday the Tattie holidays? I grew up in Ayrshire so I’m well aware of the October holiday being used for that purpose but I’m racking my brain trying to remember if I’ve ever heard someone refer to it as the Tattie holiday and I honestly can’t think of a single instance. I’m going to text my mum and ask her what she called them.

New usage of staycation was driven by media in UK during covid years - it was everywhere.

There were corrections by I think the class/wealth of people in media meant they didn't stick or didn't see the issue.

So it was ubiquitous and a new word to many in uk as well - that I think it was inevitable new usage would be picked up by dictionaries.

If it saves me money on Easter eggs I'm happy to conspire to get rid of it

No. I’m a teacher and have taught in Yorkshire and Gloucestershire. I have always heard and used Summer holidays, Christmas holidays and Easter holidays for the three main breaks each year. The shorter, in-between ones are usually called half-term holidays, even though it makes no sense in those schools/areas which use a six-term year.

Terms 1-6!

Places like Perthshire anywhere they traditionally grew a lot of spuds. In Edinburgh you only used to get a week off in October as potato growing was less of a thing locally.

That's a bold statement for saying you're incorrect. Many schools have adopted 6 terms now (as evidenced by this thread). They literally have term 1, term 2 etc up to term 6. They don't have 3 terms anymore.

I am a certified pedant and this pisses me off, they’re not all half term. So there.

We also have a verb for picking blackberries in the NE …. Blackberrying !

Yes, all the people who dont know what half term is are actually plotters subverting Christianity 😁

That’s not just in the NE!

I'd say this too. I went to school in the East Midlands.

@Lovelysummerdays Thank you ☺️

but they do still have three terms (autumn, spring and summer). just because they call it term 1, term 2 etc rather than autumn 1 and autumn 2 etc doesn't change the fact they have three terms split into 6 half terms. its the terminology thats changed not the fact they don't have three terms anymore (they still do but have changed how they call it)

It's not a bank holiday in Scotland. Only good Friday is, and schools are off.

Aren't there three main breaks - Christmas, Easter and Summer and three half term breaks - October, February and Spring Bank? Not that I think it matters at all how/if you differentiate 🤷

North/ NE Scotland do. I know my friends who grew up in fife, Edinburgh and east Lothian didn't call them that

I don't understand what you mean by this. The terminology is the only thing that dictates the number of terms a school has. Most have 3, but if some have now adopted 6 terms then it's 6 terms.

It's Easter holidays here in London. Surprised at what the OP has heard.

I think that's made it's way further down. We go blackberrying here too! :)

I’m from Birmingham and nobody I know ever called the bigger school holidays half term. It has always been Christmas/Easter/summer. However my husband is from Lancashire calls every holiday half term 🤷‍♀️ I don’t think it makes sense and tell him as much but he can’t break the habit of a lifetime.