What does “hump day” mean in American English?
Cool mom welcomes her daughter’s friends
B1 English listening practice · American English · Picked for people who know some
Hump day is American slang for Wednesday. The idea: the work week is a hill, and Wednesday is the top, the “hump.” Once you make it past Wednesday, the rest of the week is downhill toward the weekend. The phrase started in office culture in the 1960s, and the GEICO insurance ad with the talking camel (“Mike Mike Mike, guess what day it is?”) pushed it into mainstream American speech in 2013. Since then, hump day has shown up on coffee mugs, T-shirts, and Wednesday lunch specials.
In this clip, a mom welcomes her daughter’s friends after school: “I’m not like a regular mom. I’m a cool mom. I’m gonna make you girls a hump day treat.” The reference does the heavy lifting.
How common are the words?
How common are the words in this B1 English listening practice video?
How common in written English
How common in spoken English
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In American workplace conversations and Slack channels on Wednesdays
- ▸In American TV ads (GEICO’s talking-camel campaign, started 2013)
- ▸In American sitcoms about office life (The Office, Parks and Recreation)
- ▸In American restaurant and bar Wednesday-special promotions
- ▸In American social-media memes and Wednesday morning posts