Wednesday, July 24, 2013

'Staycation' - Are you eff'in Serious BBC?

Have you ever had strong feelings of dislike towards a 'word'? By 'word' I mean one of those awful awkward portmanteaus created by some bumbling idiot somewhere on this planet and then subsequently picked up by the media, who treat it as if it is a rock-star of a buzzword. Now I don't particularly mind them when they are used on internet forums. Forums are not supposed to be taken seriously, nor are they supposed to be a beacon of journalistic competence. The BBC on the other-hand....

I came across this little gem from the BBC this morning:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23397289

Headline: 

France ministers told by Hollande to 'choose staycation'

What the hell did I just read?
For some reason, unbeknownst to humanity, The BBC has utterly fallen head over heels in love with 'staycation' - quite possibly the dumbest portmanteau ever created. Maybe they are trying to show that they are hip and cool by using a word that sounds "new" and "edgy," but I see this as a shining example of the way the BBC's journalistic standards(and credibility!) have gone down the toilet these days.

I mean seriously, they did a report on the French president, using this abomination of a 'word'. We know for a fact that that's not what Hollande actually said anyway, because 'staycation' is not a French word and French politicians tend to strongly resist using English buzzwords. Its mind boggling to think that the BBC tried to pass that article off as serious reporting. Where do they get their journalists from these days? I would expect this kind of crap from dirty rags like the Sun or Daily Mail, but not the bloody BBC. Standards, please!

Lets break it down for a minute and go back to the original word, vacation.
To go on vacation just means to have a break from work or duties, regardless of where you actually go. You could go to China, go to space, or just stay home, kick back and sleep all week. That is all vacation means. To have an extended break. If we take 'staycation' to mean to have a vacation in your home country, Its completely and utterly redundant because vacation already covers that. Its still a vacation (If not, then we suddenly have to retcon most of those travellers before the era of flight as 'staycationers' as we must be consistent here!).


All aboard the staycation express! Circa 1880  -_-
Another interpretation I have heard is that during a 'staycation' you stay at home and do work or duties during your vacation period. Sorry to say though, if that is the case you are just sugarcoating the fact that you are working(and perhaps being exploited!) during your vacation time. Work is work. Are we really that infantile as a species that we need to sugarcoat everything bad with a word that makes it sound 'nicer'?


Hint: If you do any sort of work, its not a vacation, or any kind of -cation

In closing, can we kill this 'word' with fire? Lots and lots of fire.

Now, a question for my readers. Is there any particular word(that has recently become mainstream) that you have a strong dislike for? Reply below!

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