Danish expression of the day: Lille fredag
Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash and Nicolas Raymond/FlickR
Can't wait for the weekend to arrive? 'Lille fredag' means it's just around the corner.
What is lille fredag?
An expression (adjective + noun) rather than a compound (noun + noun), lille fredag literally means 'little Friday' and is another word for... Thursday.
It is therefore based on the assumption that Thursday is, in fact, the first real day of the weekend and just as much of an opportunity to let your hair down as Friday and Saturday.
Although the expression is a longstanding one and will be understood by all Danes to mean 'Thursday' its standing has arguably been established even further by iconic Copenhagen amusement park Tivoli, which decided some years ago to rename its Thursday summer concert programme 'Lillefredag' (one word in Tivoli's interpretation).
What does lille fredag tell us about Denmark?
Denmark is known to have a considerable drinking culture, although statistics and reports in recent years show that alcohol consumption per head is falling. But it is conceivable that the concept of stretching the weekend to an extra day may be related to this.
Anecdotally, the concept of Thursday being a 'small Friday' and part of the weekend could be connected to work-life balance. Many jobs, particularly office-based ones, have regular weekly hours which include an earlier finishing time on Friday than on the other days of the week, allowing employers to get home early on Friday afternoons and get their weekends started. As such, by the time you get to Thursday evening, there are very few hours left in the working week.
It could also just be that the diminutive description of a day is just a popular way to describe the eve of something pleasant. Similarly to lille fredag, December 23rd in Denmark widely referred to as lille juleaften (Little Christmas Eve).
How to use it
Ej, jeg orker simpelthen ikke arbejde i dag. Godt, at det er lille fredag i morgen.
Oh dear, I simply can't be doing with work to day. At least it's little Friday tomorrow.
Skal vi ikke tage en fyraftensbajer? Det er trods alt lille fredag.
Shall we grab a beer after work? It is little Friday after all.
Did we miss anything? Do you disagree with any of the above? Do you have a suggestion for a future word of the day? Let us know.
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See Also
What is lille fredag?
An expression (adjective + noun) rather than a compound (noun + noun), lille fredag literally means 'little Friday' and is another word for... Thursday.
It is therefore based on the assumption that Thursday is, in fact, the first real day of the weekend and just as much of an opportunity to let your hair down as Friday and Saturday.
Although the expression is a longstanding one and will be understood by all Danes to mean 'Thursday' its standing has arguably been established even further by iconic Copenhagen amusement park Tivoli, which decided some years ago to rename its Thursday summer concert programme 'Lillefredag' (one word in Tivoli's interpretation).
What does lille fredag tell us about Denmark?
Denmark is known to have a considerable drinking culture, although statistics and reports in recent years show that alcohol consumption per head is falling. But it is conceivable that the concept of stretching the weekend to an extra day may be related to this.
Anecdotally, the concept of Thursday being a 'small Friday' and part of the weekend could be connected to work-life balance. Many jobs, particularly office-based ones, have regular weekly hours which include an earlier finishing time on Friday than on the other days of the week, allowing employers to get home early on Friday afternoons and get their weekends started. As such, by the time you get to Thursday evening, there are very few hours left in the working week.
It could also just be that the diminutive description of a day is just a popular way to describe the eve of something pleasant. Similarly to lille fredag, December 23rd in Denmark widely referred to as lille juleaften (Little Christmas Eve).
How to use it
Ej, jeg orker simpelthen ikke arbejde i dag. Godt, at det er lille fredag i morgen.
Oh dear, I simply can't be doing with work to day. At least it's little Friday tomorrow.
Skal vi ikke tage en fyraftensbajer? Det er trods alt lille fredag.
Shall we grab a beer after work? It is little Friday after all.
Did we miss anything? Do you disagree with any of the above? Do you have a suggestion for a future word of the day? Let us know.
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