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In an English book which is described in my first language, I found a conversation which I couldn't understand compared with the translation in my first language.

The conversation is like the following.

Danny : Well, the holidays are over for another year

mother : What will you need for school tomorrow?

I think it seems to be idiomatic, but I can't understand the first sentence above.

The translation of the sentence shows that until a vacation comes, one year has to pass in my first language.

I'm not sure that the translation is correct.

I assume that 'another year' means the rest of this year. Am I right?

So, I rephrase the sentence like the following

Well, the holidays for the rest of this year are over.

Please, I want to get a correct meaning of the sentence from native speakers.

Thanks in advance

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  • a period of time (such as the usually 9-month period in which a school is in session) other than(instead of) a calendar year;a particular of time(merriam-webster.com/dictionary/year)
    – bak1936
    May 6, 2022 at 4:23

1 Answer 1

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The holidays are over - they have finished. The holidays are over for the year - the year's allocation of holidays has finished. The holidays are over for another year emphasises the ongoing annual cycle of work/school and holidays.

Note that the "year" is generally not a calendar year but an annual cycle, and "the holidays" may not include all the holidays. Typically in Danny's sentence "the holidays" refers to the longest holiday period of the year, not to single days or short breaks. In Australian schools the sentence would be used in late January, at the end of the Christmas (summer) holidays, which last roughly five weeks. It ignores Easter and the three two-week long term holidays.

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  • Thanks!! I agree with you. I get to know another meaning of 'year'. That is, a long time. so I can understand what you mentioned. By the way, according to a dictionary, when the 'year' means 'a long time, 'year' has to become 'years'(plural) Is it an author's mistake in the text book? or does the native speaker usually use singular in a word 'year' which means 'a long time'?
    – bak1936
    May 6, 2022 at 3:07
  • "It lasts for years" means "it lasts for a long time" - longer than just a year or two. A more general expression is "it lasts for ages". In your question and my answer a "year" is roughly 365 days, but the exact length may vary to allow school to end and start on specific days of the week.
    – Peter
    May 6, 2022 at 3:21
  • I made a mistake in first comment. I understand you meant holidays, and I can check out it. but there is a little difficulty to understand the meaning of a word 'year' which you described as an annual cycle
    – bak1936
    May 6, 2022 at 3:31
  • A "year" can mean several different but related things depending on context. Scientifically it is about 365.2422 days. A calendar year goes from the midnight beginning 1/1/2022 (say) to midnight ending 31/12/2022. A year can also mean the time until a day and month are repeated, eg 23/3/2022 to 23/3/2023. "Annual" just means "yearly". Often the word "year" is used to mean a time of approximately 1 year.
    – Peter
    May 6, 2022 at 4:49
  • Thanks!! you are right!!
    – bak1936
    May 6, 2022 at 23:09

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