EG I’m going to take a smoke break
VS. I’m going go have a smoke break
EG. I’m going to take a piss
VS. I’m going to have a piss
How did “have” and “take” become actionable verbs in this context? They don’t even make sense. Shouldn’t it really be:
I’m going for a smoke break
I’m going for a piss
Not that I will be adjusting my speech or anything. Just a strange thought.
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In order to have something you must usually take it first. Perhaps your supervisor doesn’t want you to have a break, but you put an effort to take it anyway. I think in the expressions to take a p__s or s__t you are primarily taking the “time” for those activities, similar to a break. In the case of taking a shower there could be another meaning: you accept the water falling onto you, taking it like a man, instead of avoiding it.
I don’t know, but it hasn’t happened in British English. It sounds quite jarring to hear an American say “take a piss”. In the UK we just “go for a piss”.
They are both about taking or having possession.
You take possession of something. Or you have possession of something.
To have a smoke break, means you’re going to possess, own or control a smoke break.
To take a piss, means you’re going to take advantage of the opportunity to gain a piss.
It’s about control, or removing from others, or taking possession of a time, place, opportunity, advantage, etc. It’s a form of self-empowering.
English is full of all kinds of histories, languages, grammars and evolutions, this is a pretty minor one, to be honest.
This could be regional variations in English, but I’ve never said or heard someone “have” a “piss” or “smoke break.”
I think grammatically you “take” an opportunity or action and you “have” an object or experience.
Therefore, you can for example “take lunch” or “have lunch,” but, you cannot “take dinner,” you can only “have dinner.”
Is it just me, or does “take a piss” sound more American, while “have a piss” sounds more British?
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