Travel Quirks: Essential Travel Vocabulary

Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday.

As summer approaches and business trips and holiday travel pick up, let's brush up on some essential travel vocabulary that might have some quirky surprises. Today, we'll explore idioms, phrasal verbs, and even a dash of cultural nuance to help you navigate the world of travel with confidence.

Taxi Talk: Same Destination, Different Words

In English, we have two ways to say "car with a driver for hire": taxi and cab. Both come from the same root word (taxicab), so you can use either without causing confusion. However, a fun fact for the frequent flier – "taxi" is the preferred term in most non-English speaking countries, while "cab" is more common in English-speaking ones.

“Hail a Taxi”

‘Hail’ is the verb we use when we want to stop a taxi so that we can get in it and start our journey.

Hail - verb - to call someone in order to attract attention.

“Shall we hail a taxi”.

These days, many people order a taxi through an app such as Uber or Lyft.

Not to be confused with hail as a noun:

Hail - noun - small, hard balls of ice that fall from the sky (like frozen rain).

Vehicles: Get In or Get On?

Here's a handy trick to remember which verb to use with different vehicles:

• Get in: This is for enclosed spaces where you sit down immediately, like cars, vans, and taxis.

• Get on: Use this for vehicles where you walk to your seat, such as buses, trains, planes, ferries, and ships.

The opposite of "get in" is "get out", and the opposite of "get on" is "get off." 

By the way, for bicycles and motorbikes, we use "get on" and "get off" because we're technically sitting on top, not inside.

Checking In and Out: Where and When?

We all know the drill at airports and hotels – we check in. But what exactly does that mean? Checking in involves registering for your flight or hotel stay, usually showing your passport or identification for verification. Now, when it comes to hotels, we "check out" when we settle (pay) the bill. Unlike a hotel, we don’t need to check out of an airport!

The phrasal verb is ‘check in’ without a hyphen. The place where we check in at an airport is a ‘check-in’ with a hyphen. A check-in desk also has a hyphen and check-in is an adjective here.

Check in - phrasal verb.

Check-in - noun or adjective.

Check vs. Cheque: A Tale of Two Spellings

Travelling can involve some financial transactions, so let's clear up a potential confusion. In British English, a "cheque" is a printed form used for bank payments. In American English, it is spelled "check".

However, in the USA a ‘check’ is also the bill you receive at a restaurant at the end of your meal. So, when settling your meal, you might say "Can I have the check, please?" in the US, while in the UK, "Can I have the bill, please?" would be more appropriate.

Travelling or Traveling: Another Two Spellings

‘Travelling’ (two ‘l’s) is British English while ‘Traveling’ (one ‘l’) is American English.

Cambridge exam students would note that you can use either British English or American English but be consistent.

“Safe Travels”

When someone is leaving on a business trip or for a holiday we often say ‘safe travels’ meaning have a safe journey. So, keep exploring, keep learning, and most importantly, keep those business and holiday trips smooth and successful!

Words of the Day - Quirk and Quirky

Quirk - noun - an unusual habit or type of behaviour or something strange and unexpected

“Everyone has their little quirks”.

Quirky - adjective - having or characterised by unexpected traits or aspects.

“She has a quirky sense of humour”

Do you have any Business English questions?

Please email me and I will do my best to answer them in future newsletters.

Until Friday - have a great day!

Iain.

www.communicateenglish.com

p.s. Do you know anyone who might like to join this mailing list? Please forward them this newsletter and they can join here: