Comment on “Holiday” — My engineering job, included working with a machinist to design and build test fixtures made from aluminum alloy plate. Sometimes, due to an error in my design drawing or a slip my the machinist, a hole was drilled in the wrong location. The machinist could fill in such mistakes with an aluminum weld. He called this cosmetic fix “Hollywooding.” So if a missed spot is a “holiday,” perhaps it can be fixed by “Hollywooding.”
The sardonic meaning of “holiday” eludes me, of all people, generally regarded as a virtuoso of sarcasm. Does the nautical “holiday” for a missed spot mean that the person caulking the seam was not working when he should have been (if only momentarily)?
This is interesting. I painted for a living in the last century (but only for 22 years). The first time I ever heard the term “holiday,” referring to my poor workmanship, I knew exactly what was meant. Of course, that my boss was pointing at it helped. It never occurred to me, though, to find out the source of a painter’s “holiday.” Thank you–now that I don’t really need to know it anymore.
John Germaine:
January 27th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
I well remember the neighborhood children referring to missed spots in mowing the yard as “holidays”, I thought because one took a short holiday from the task.
Betsy Carlson:
January 21st, 2014 at 6:57 pm
My great-grandfather from Sweden taught my father to paint and pass on the terminology called holidays…not a good thing to do.
Reinhold Dohmann:
June 19th, 2015 at 9:30 pm
Gentlemen
Indeed the word, Holiday is of Old English, however it has nothing to do with holy day, in regards to religion or any thing of the sort.
First off, look at the spelling. Holy day.. Holiday..Second..the Old English term for Holiday, simply means, NOT THERE. In regards to the painting industry,road work,and any other trade where thickness of substrate is involved, this is the term used to document,improper thickness of coatings
Reinhold Dohmann:
June 19th, 2015 at 11:42 pm
Just an Just an old English Phrase. Meaning (Not There) Nothing to do with Holyday as far as religion or anything else. Straight forward. Holiday in construction, means, material is missing
Bruce Tomczak:
December 18th, 2015 at 12:47 pm
I first learned of the term holiday when I was painting at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The foreman warned us about holidays. I had to have the term explained to me, and I had been painting professionally for 15 years. We even had an electronic holiday meter that measured the thickness of the layer of paint we applied. It seemed to work.
Jake Easterwood:
December 26th, 2015 at 7:06 am
So I wouldn’t be all that far off if I told you something like… “Your rocker took a holiday.”?
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Charlie Nunzio:
July 5th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Comment on “Holiday” — My engineering job, included working with a machinist to design and build test fixtures made from aluminum alloy plate. Sometimes, due to an error in my design drawing or a slip my the machinist, a hole was drilled in the wrong location. The machinist could fill in such mistakes with an aluminum weld. He called this cosmetic fix “Hollywooding.” So if a missed spot is a “holiday,” perhaps it can be fixed by “Hollywooding.”
Steve Dunham:
December 20th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
The sardonic meaning of “holiday” eludes me, of all people, generally regarded as a virtuoso of sarcasm. Does the nautical “holiday” for a missed spot mean that the person caulking the seam was not working when he should have been (if only momentarily)?
Pablito de Arizona:
December 23rd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
This is interesting. I painted for a living in the last century (but only for 22 years). The first time I ever heard the term “holiday,” referring to my poor workmanship, I knew exactly what was meant. Of course, that my boss was pointing at it helped. It never occurred to me, though, to find out the source of a painter’s “holiday.” Thank you–now that I don’t really need to know it anymore.
John Germaine:
January 27th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
I well remember the neighborhood children referring to missed spots in mowing the yard as “holidays”, I thought because one took a short holiday from the task.
Betsy Carlson:
January 21st, 2014 at 6:57 pm
My great-grandfather from Sweden taught my father to paint and pass on the terminology called holidays…not a good thing to do.
Reinhold Dohmann:
June 19th, 2015 at 9:30 pm
Gentlemen
Indeed the word, Holiday is of Old English, however it has nothing to do with holy day, in regards to religion or any thing of the sort.
First off, look at the spelling. Holy day.. Holiday..Second..the Old English term for Holiday, simply means, NOT THERE. In regards to the painting industry,road work,and any other trade where thickness of substrate is involved, this is the term used to document,improper thickness of coatings
Reinhold Dohmann:
June 19th, 2015 at 11:42 pm
Just an Just an old English Phrase. Meaning (Not There) Nothing to do with Holyday as far as religion or anything else. Straight forward. Holiday in construction, means, material is missing
Bruce Tomczak:
December 18th, 2015 at 12:47 pm
I first learned of the term holiday when I was painting at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The foreman warned us about holidays. I had to have the term explained to me, and I had been painting professionally for 15 years. We even had an electronic holiday meter that measured the thickness of the layer of paint we applied. It seemed to work.
Jake Easterwood:
December 26th, 2015 at 7:06 am
So I wouldn’t be all that far off if I told you something like… “Your rocker took a holiday.”?