3 Types of Party

Brits love to party!  If you have recently moved to the UK or are thinking of visiting you may be invited to a party.  Here are 3 types of party, what to expect and some helpful expressions to use.

Informal Dinner Party

A dinner party is a great opportunity to get to know people.  There will typically be 6 to 8 guests, and you should wear something glamorous, (women) and for men – look sharp. You will be doing lots of flirting!

Sharp (colloquial): something new, fresh and clean that makes you feel cool and look hot.

Glamorous: attractive in an exciting way

Hot: sexy

Who will be there:

Host or hostess – the people giving the party.  If they are cooking then it’s nice to ask if there’s anything you can do to help:

‘May I help?’

They will thank you but say no and offer you a drink.

Other guests: your host or hostess will aim to balance male and female guests so in a party of 6, there will probably be 3 men and 3 women.

If your host is busy cooking and doesn’t introduce you to the other guests, then you should introduce yourself:

‘Hello, I’m (your name) – it’s lovely to meet you’

Must Do’s

Take a bottle of wine.

Compliment the chef and if you would like to have a second helping, you say:

‘This is sooo delicious – may I have some more?’

Second helping: more food.

When it’s time to leave, thank your host and hostess:

‘Thank you so much for inviting me!  I’ve had a wonderful evening.’

Formal Black Tie Dinner Party

Your host and hostess will be very rich, and this will take place in a large house (London) or country pile (in the countryside).  At a formal black tie dinner party, the seating plan is important.  There is a social hierarchy that must be observed, or you risk upsetting somebody.  The married lady of the most important guest sits to the right of the host and the most important male guest sits to the right of the hostess.  

When dinner starts, you must talk to the person on your right.  After the first course you talk to the person on your left.  After you have spent some time talking to the person on your left, you are free to join in any conversation within earshot.

Country pile: A colloquial expression that means a very large house in the countryside.

Seating plan: the hostess will have decided in advance where everyone will sit around the table, which will be large, and she will have taken great care to work out who will be sat next to who.

Social hierarchy: social system which ranks people according to their status.  For example, in the UK, a man with a title (Lord, Earl, Sir) will be ranked higher than one without.  See my blog on British titles.

Observed: in this sense, observed means obeyed.

Risk: the possibility of something bad happening

Within earshot: that you can hear, i.e. within your range of hearing.

Range: an area, within limits. In this case, the limits are set by how good your hearing is.

Dress code (what to wear)

Women: dress up.  Lots of jewellery.

Men: Black tie.  This means a black suit, white shirt, bow tie and cuff links.  Make sure your shoes are black and polished.

Who will be there

Formal black tie dinner parties are for the rich.  If your fellow guests are members of the British upper class, be warned that they can be cliquey and you may feel nervous.  Don’t!  This is an affectation and once they’ve had a glass or two of wine, they will become much more fun.  

Cliquey: difficult to get to know.  Cliquey people are not immediately friendly to people who are not in their social circle.

Social circle:  group of friends – usually of similar class or financial status.

The Office Party

If you work in the UK, you will probably be invited to an office party sometime in December and possibly a second one in the Summer.  It is traditional to drink too much at office parties.  Everybody has a wonderful time and it’s a great opportunity to ‘let your hair down’ and relax with your colleagues.

‘Let your hair down’ (idiom: relax and enjoy yourself without worrying about formalities