# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/81 "2011-07-26T16:01:16Z")
This whole thread: WHATEVS. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/82 "2011-07-26T16:21:44Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > Why, POSSLQ, of course: > > [POSSLQ - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POSSLQ) I like this one. I would even shorten it to POSSy. Then you could say things like, “Me and my POSSy are heading down to the clubs.” and “I better call my POSSy and give 'em the down low.” and other such slightly intimidating phrases. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/83 "2011-07-26T16:29:36Z")
If it’s a same-sex relationship, it would be PSSSLQ! ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/84 "2011-07-26T17:09:24Z")
You do realize why people hate “vay-cay” so much, right? It’s because the only people who say “vay-cay” are the ones who are about to go on a “vay-cay.” Strictly a jealousy thing! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/85 "2011-07-26T17:46:00Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Out of interest, what am I supposed to call the man I’m having 2 children with, whom I own a house with, and plan to be with until I die? I’d rather not use boyfriend, since we’re both over the age of 12. I have a friend who refers to her “consort”. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/86 "2011-07-26T18:49:54Z")
> [@coolbyrne](#): > > At risk of sounding like the old woman on the porch (“Get off my lawn, you god damn kids!!”), it irritates me to no end to hear people shorten “vacation” to “vay-cay”. Nitpick: Shouldn’t it be “vac_a_”? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/87 "2011-07-26T18:53:59Z")
No, because “vaca” would be pronounced completely differently. Plus, “vaca” means “cow” in Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/88 "2011-07-26T19:01:12Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > No, because “vaca” would be pronounced completely differently. Curious, since we don’t say ‘vah-kah-shun’. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/89 "2011-07-26T19:02:27Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Curious, since we don’t say ‘vah-kah-shun’. Yes, English orthography is curious. What’s your point? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/90 "2011-07-26T19:07:03Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Yes, English orthography is curious. What’s your point? Point is it’s a shortening of the word vacation. But, on the whole, I agree, although ‘vaca means cow in Spanish’ means diddly-shit. We’re talking colloquial English, not Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/91 "2011-07-26T19:12:56Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Point is it’s a shortening of the word vacation. Doesn’t matter. When new slang is coined, its spelling isn’t locked to the original word. > [@](#): > > But, on the whole, I agree, although ‘vaca means cow in Spanish’ means diddly-shit. We’re talking colloquial English, not Spanish. Some Spanish words are sufficiently well known in American culture that it might mean more than diddly-shit. “Vaca” might or might not be one of them, but to me it’s the first thing I will think of when I see that sequence of letters, and I know very little Spanish beyond what’s necessary to order food. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/92 "2011-07-26T19:27:12Z")
I purposefully described the trip I went on just recently as a vay-cay on facebook specifically because people objected to that word here. Unfortunately, no one on my facebook took the bait and I’ll have to figure out how to work in Crimbo, pressies, and peeps to find out who the Language-inati are. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/93 "2011-07-26T20:26:43Z")
> [@Finally](#): > > Hearing adults say, “I have to go potty”. Potty should not be used by anyone over the age of 4, as far as I’m concerned. Am I the only one? Right you are. Sensible adults should stick with “I gotta take a dump.” ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/94 "2011-07-26T20:27:53Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > WHATEVS. Totes. > [@Acsenray](#): > > No, because “vaca” would be pronounced completely differently. Silly argument, considering other abbreviations such as the standard “mic” for “microphone.” Spelling and pronunciation often bear little resemblance to each other in English, and written and spoken language are two very different things; a slang term created in spoken English could very well have multiple acceptable spellings. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/95 "2011-07-26T20:29:04Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Silly argument, considering other abbreviations such as the standard “mic” for “microphone.” “Mike” is more common in non-technical contexts. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/96 "2011-07-26T20:51:31Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > “Mike” is more common in non-technical contexts. “Mike” looks really weird to me, and I can’t think of anyone I know (lots of touring musicians) who abbreviates it that way (though it’s possible I just haven’t noticed). M-W has entries for both as abbreviations for microphone: \*mike \*since 1924 and \*mic \*since 1961. Interestingly, if I were to use the word as a verb, I would write that someone is _miked_, not _miced_. ---
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/97 "2011-07-26T21:20:21Z")
**Vay cay** is kind of new and I don’t like it but the godzilla of all-time haircurlers for me is **vis a vis.**. Somebody starts using that in a **convo** and I got to go. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/98 "2011-07-27T00:31:38Z")
> [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](#): > > **Vay cay** is kind of new and I don’t like it but the godzilla of all-time haircurlers for me is **vis a vis.**. Somebody starts using that in a **convo** and I got to go. But vis a vis is a legitimate expression, not an abbreviation or bastardization. Granted, it appears more in formal writing than in conversation, but … ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/99 "2011-07-27T02:16:47Z")
> [@Finally](#): > > Hearing adults say, “I have to go potty”. Potty should not be used by anyone over the age of 4, as far as I’m concerned. Am I the only one? I went on a cross country road trip with 2 friends…one decided to bring his wife along. About an hour into the trip, I hear this quiet voice say “I have to go potty.” I looked back and she was giving my friend (her husband) the puppy dog look. I took this to mean “I know I’m a huge pain in the ass and I’m just dead-weight in this car since I’m not even capable of operating a car on the highway, but I really need to go to the bathroom”. I stopped at the next rest area and she went off to the bathroom and I thought that would be the end of it. Nope…every 60-90 minutes, “I have to go potty”. By the fourth or fifth time, I was ready to jump over the seat and strangle her. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207/100 "2011-08-03T15:26:43Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > 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. Yes! THIS is why these “abbrevs” bother me. The speaker is shouting “Look at me! I’m so cool!” I have a friend that will start to say the right word, catch herself and substitute the trendy nickname for an ordinary item. Which of course gives the lie to “I’m in a hurry, using the shorter slang”, because she just LENGTHENED her sentence. Example: “And of course they didn’t have Wi-F…Wiffy… there.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-use-of-the-word-vay-cay/590207.md?page=6)