pastime

I have always held, too, that pistol practice should be distinctly an open-air pastime; and when Holmes, in one of his queer humours, would sit in an armchair with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges, and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V.

He could do it in an hour, and how many times had he, for pure pastime, continued in the water for more than twice as long!

Baseball is often called America’s national pastime, and it holds a special place in the country’s heart.