Posted by Alan Hakim on June 17, 1999 at 18:43:32 from asn19-15.mcmail.com:
In Reply to: Re: about WIGWAM and TEEPEE and Americanisms in AR's works posted by Terence McManus on June 17, 1999 at 04:21:22:
Everyone in UK talked of Wigwams until quite recently. The word tepee was almost unknown. My son, 27 years ago, was desperate for a "wigwam tent" (his phrase, aged 3) for Christmas. I think the word might have become widely known through "Hiawatha", which was very popular in UK in the first half of the century. (But I am relying on memory; I haven't seen the text for years.)
As for vacation, that has been common UK usage for many years, for a period between active terms in universities and the law. The D's father would therefore always have had vacations, during which he had no teaching responsibility and could take his holidays. The US usage is specifically that a vacation is what the British call holiday.
Since US universities have semesters where we have terms, what do they have in between them?