# The use of the word "vay-cay" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 24, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207 "2011-07-24T20:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/21 "2011-07-25T02:39:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yeah. She needs to just chill. Maybe take a vay-cay or something. I recommend Australia, mainly to enjoy the slang. Australia!? That’s crazy talk, man. How could you chill in the [deadliest place on earth](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3006/is-australia-the-deadliest-place-on-earth)? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/22 "2011-07-25T03:11:31Z")
Vay-cay drives me cray-cray. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/23 "2011-07-25T03:27:20Z")
The problem I have with vay-cay (or vaca) is that it isn’t just a shortening, but a way to try to sound cool by shortening. None of the other abbreviations in this thread have that trait. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/24 "2011-07-25T03:32:54Z")
Is this new? I’ve never heard it before. If it is new, I can see the annoyance. Words like “veggie” and “sec” have been around as long as I can remember, so to me they’re just as normal as “vegetable” or “second”. It I started hearing people saying “vay-cay”, though, it would sound like baby talk, and a forced attempt at sounding cutesy. And I’d probably want to hit them with a brick. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/25 "2011-07-25T03:45:27Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > > [@Sierra Indigo](#): > > > > No we don’t. “Hols” is a very specifically English contraction. > > Maybe I’m old, but I think I’ve heard “hols” in Australia. But, if not “hols”, what? In my experience “hols” is still a reasonably common usage in Australia. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/26 "2011-07-25T03:50:31Z")
BTW, what the heck does the “fi” part of wi-fi stand for? ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/27 "2011-07-25T04:00:49Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > In my experience “hols” is still a reasonably common usage in Australia. It’s not in common usage at all, it may very rarely be used by older people but most people over here just say holidays, “going away”, leave or vacation. In four different states, I’ve heard it used in approximately once or twice in 20 or so years, and when I did hear it spoken last it was an old English expat who used it. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/28 "2011-07-25T04:00:49Z")
Maybe you need to get the sand out of your va-jay-jay. 😛 Vay-cay, ugh. Say the whole word, it’s just not that much longer and it’s not cutesy. Cutesy is grating. The one that gets me lately is Quicken Loans. They’re offering some flexible mortgage plan and calling it a “Yourgage.” I’d slap the radio when that commercial is on but it would just hurt my hand. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/29 "2011-07-25T04:19:53Z")
Do actual grown adults in the UK **really** say “Prezzies” and “Crimbo” for presents and Christmas? Because every time the actors on _The Vicar of Dibley_ and _Ideal_ do, I want to beat them to death. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/30 "2011-07-25T04:41:23Z")
[‘However, based on Phil Belanger’s statement, the term Wi-Fi was never supposed to mean anything at all.’](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi) . ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/31 "2011-07-25T08:43:39Z")
I don’t mind particular abbreviations nearly as much as a type of grown woman who abbreviates \*everything \*in a way that seems aimed at being cute. You know this is going on when they also extend short words by adding “-ie” or something on the end, like a little lace fringe. It’s the verbal equivalent of putting your toilet paper under a crocheted doll, and it sets my teeth on edge. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/32 "2011-07-25T10:30:53Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Do actual grown adults in the UK **really** say “Prezzies” and “Crimbo” for presents and Christmas? Because every time the actors on _The Vicar of Dibley_ and _Ideal_ do, I want to beat them to death. I have to admit I say “pressies” for presents, sorry! “Crimbo” seems Australian to me though? (Scotland, spent time living in England also) ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/33 "2011-07-25T11:09:25Z")
Pretty sure I’ve heard pressies in both Australia and NZ, but more likely to hear Chrissy than Crimbo which I think is an English usage. Never heard hols used in Australia, but I’d know what they meant - vay cay is unheard of here. You’d normally take leave, go to \ or have a break. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/34 "2011-07-25T11:25:46Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I am glad to see another soldier in the fight. Halloween will always be All-Hallows-Evening (never Eve) in my house but sometimes we have to pick our battles due to ground already lost. We just have to fortify and prepare for the next heathen insurgence. Nitpicking a joke, how low can I sink? (Oh, much lower!) All-Hallows-Evening would be the evening of All-Hallows-Day. All-Hallows-Eve is the evening of the day before All-Hallows-Day, in other words Halloween. (Just as in the distinction between Christmas Eve and Christmas Evening). See _eve_, n.1, 2 in OED. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/35 "2011-07-25T12:23:30Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > BTW, what the heck does the “fi” part of wi-fi stand for? It’s a play on words related to Hi-Fi, so it kind of stands for fidelity. Good description at wiki: > **[Wi-Fi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi)** > > Wi-Fi (/ˈwaɪfaɪ/)\[a\] is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves. These are the most widely used computer networks, used globally in home and small office networks to link devices and to provide Internet access with wireless routers and wireless access points in public places such as coffee shops, restaura... ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/36 "2011-07-25T12:38:48Z")
> **[Tween Bromance](https://xkcd.com/919/)** > > Verbiage. Va-jay-jay. Irregardless. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/37 "2011-07-25T12:52:52Z")
I watch this Aussie show called Rush. It’s a cop show, basically. They’re always saying things like “ambo” for ambulance, or maybe “reg” or “rego” or something for registration. Maybe it’s mostly cop talk, but it’s amusing hearing big tough cops talking like Patsy and Edina on Ab Fab. 🙂 Vay cay and a few other similar abbrevs seemed a fairly short-lived trend, and I’m a little depressed learning vay cay is still around, as that one in particular grates. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/38 "2011-07-25T13:05:33Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I wasn’t necessarily implying they do. But if you hate “vay-cay”, good luck with “barbie”, “eski”, “uni”, etc. An Esky is a brand name for a cooler. I have heard, hols, prezzies, ambos etc quite frequently. Never heard of Crimbo though. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/39 "2011-07-25T14:11:15Z")
I am hard pressed to come up with any shortened word colloquialism that really seems to ruin my day or… really… even give it a second thought. Perhaps my ass cheeks aren’t clenched tightly enough… ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/40 "2011-07-25T14:11:58Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > I am hard pressed to come up with any shortened word colloquialism that really seems to ruin my day or… really.. even give it a second thought. > > Perhaps my ass cheeks aren’t clenched tightly enough… No, I’m pretty sure that’s not it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207.md?page=3)