Dictionary

alcoholiday en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌælkəˈhɒləˌdeɪ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˌælkəˈhɒlɪdeɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)bor. Aramaic כוחלא (kuḥlā)bor. Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl) Andalusian Arabic كُحُول (kuḥūl)bor. Medieval Latin alcoholbor. Middle English alcofol English alcohol Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos Proto-Germanic *hailaz Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-Germanic *hailagaz Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-? Proto-Germanic *dagaz Proto-Germanic *hailagadagaz Old English hāliġdæġ Middle English halyday English holiday blend English alcoholiday Blend of alcohol + holiday.

Meanings

1. (humorous, informal) A holiday or leisure time spent drinking alcohol.
   • In a short story that I have recently read, one of the characters, a "sport," speaks of the Christmas season as the alcoholidays. 1911 October–November, A[braham] A[rden] Brill, “Freud’s Theory of Wit”, in Morton Prince, editor, The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, volume VI, Boston, Mass.: Richard G. Badger, The Gorham Press, [for the American Psychological Association], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 280; republished in Sigmund Freud, translated by A. A. Brill, Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious, authorized English edition, New York, N.Y.: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1916, →OCLC, page 23:
   • Before the American adventure Oscar [Wilde] had dealt indulgently with Willie [Wilde]'s weakness: "Oh, he occasionally takes an alcoholiday." But when his life became one long alcoholiday his younger brother, who hated to see people dirty, drunken and disreputable, ceased to be indulgent. "He sponges on everyone but himself," was Oscar's caustic summary. a. 1901 (date spoken), Hesketh Pearson, quoting Oscar Wilde, “The Family”, in Oscar Wilde: His Life and Wit, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, published 1946, →OCLC, page 98:
   • [N]ow you see we are out on a frolic, a spree,—on an alcoholiday. See it? 1883, Mrs. Charles H[enry] Fernald [i.e., Maria Elizabeth Fernald?], “A Temperance Frolic”, in Footlight Frolics: Entertainments for Home and School […], Boston, Mass.: Lee and Shephard; New York, N.Y.: Charles T. Dillingham, →OCLC, scene ii, page 118:
   • There will be loss of time and loss of work on this account, and instead of half-holidays there will, too often it is to be feared, be half-alco'''holidays. 1920, International Brewers’ Journal, volume 56, London: William Reed, →OCLC, page 450, column 1:
   • A little festival in celebration of favours received—in anticipation of favours to come! An alcoholiday! Fill up my glass, Malachi! 1949, Vaughan Wilkins, “Uncle Richard’s Annual Alcoholiday”, in Once upon a Time: An Adventure, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, page 150:
   • [S]ome of them have Champagne flutes and still others with pint glasses of what appears to be Cognac, tumblers of Grand Marnier and jorums of Kahlua; oh my but they will enjoy this alcoholiday tonight, […] 2021, RayMan Ramsay, “What to Do until the Band Goes Away!”, in Promo Monkey: Monkey See, Monkey Two: Personas & Prima Donnas, Victoria, B.C.: FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 170:
   • I guess the charm of playing host to Westerners' pig-wild cheap Easyjet alcoholidays had worn off a bit. 2013, Geoff Berner, “Drunken Self-sabotage”, in Shannon Whibbs, editor, Festival Man, Toronto, Ont.: Dundurn Press, →ISBN, page 122:
2. (humorous, informal, rare) A period of time during which one intentionally abstains from drinking alcohol.
   • For skin disorders, we sometimes fix the diet by ordering the patient off the Seven Deadly C's—cocktails, coffee, chocolate, condiments, carbohydrates, cigarettes, and cheese. We often add an admonition to take an alcoholiday. 1942 September, Lemuel P. Ereaux, “The Bare Facts”, in Leland D. Case, editor, The Rotarian, volume XLI, number 3, Chicago, Ill.: Rotary International, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 43, column 3:

Forms

Translations (4)

fi raitis jakso (period of time during which one intentionally abstains from drinking alcohol) · fi ryyppyloma (holiday or leisure time spent drinking alcohol) · mk тре́зен перио́д (period of time during which one intentionally abstains from drinking alcohol) · mk алко́холен ден (holiday or leisure time spent drinking alcohol)