Of Hump Day and more !

Did you ever wonder what this happy Hump Day every Wednesday is all about?

Why am I curious about that, will you ask? Well, while I got used to it, speaking with non-American friends, I came to realise that some people might be a little startled when you say that to them, as they wonder for an instant if you are wishing them a little something else. Naturally, I started googling away!

First thing first, nobody really seems to know where, when or how the term originated exactly. The only consensus appears to be that the expression was first used in the United States in the 1950s, and spread to Canada and Australia, and no doubt to many other countries by now, primarily through corporate environment.

Just in case the phrase is not clear to you, I found the following definition: “The phrase 'Hump day' represents the concept of a week as a metaphorical hill that a person climbs, with Wednesday typically considered as the middle or peak of the week. The main implication of the phrase is that people can climb down the other side of the hill and move towards the weekend.”

As I kept googling away, I discovered that there are “nicknames” for the other days of the week too (yes, the number of things I do not know never cease to amaze me!). Here goes some examples, which by no mean constitute an exhaustive list:

Monday - Howl Day (because the weekend is over)
Tuesday - Day Two (it’s just sort-of there)
Wednesday - Hump Day (it’s because you’re sliding down into the weekend from here)
Thursday - Thirst Day (because you’re craving the weekend)
Friday - Fried Day (because you’re still fried at the beginning of the weekend)
Saturday - Sit ’Er Down Day (after all that work, just sit a while)
Sunday - Fun Day (cram in the fun or nap [napping is fun if you’re tired], whichever you didn’t do on Sit ’Er Down Day, before Howl Day)

And that gift kept on giving, as I clicked away and discovered that Americans are not the only one establishing colloquial expressions for the day of the week. For example, in Sweden, Wednesday are frequently referred to as “lillördag" which translates to "Little Saturday”, and seems to imply that Wednesday is a day for mini celebration (or at least so I read!).

Bottom line:

Yes, I have too much time on my hand to keep wondering about such things;
Yes, many other people have too much time on their hands to come up with that kind of creativity;
Yes, some people might be wondering whether you are informing them they might get lucky tonight.

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