Party Idioms

People who love parties

The life and soul of the party = the person who’s at the centre of all parties!
She’s the life and soul of the party.

let your hair down = forget all your inhibitions: “Go on! Let your hair down for once and have a good time.”

have a whale of a time = have a great time: “We had a whale of a time at Sonia’s birthday.”

paint the town red = have a wild time: “They painted the town red all weekend.”

a party animal = a person who loves going to parties: “John is a real party animal. He’s never at home.”

a wild child = a young adult who goes to lots of parties: “Emma is a bit of a wild child.”

large it up (UK slang) = have a good time: “She larges it up at the weekend.”

a social butterfly = a person with lots of friends and acquaintances: She’s a bit of a social butterfly.”

be a laugh = be good company: “Eric’s a bit of a laugh.”

throw a party = have a party: “We’re throwing a party next Saturday.”

People who hate parties

party-pooper = someone who doesn’t like parties: “Don’t be such a party-pooper!”

a wet blanket = someone who doesn’t want to have fun: “He’s such a wet blanket.”

Billy no-mates (UK slang) = a man with no friends: “He doesn’t want to go alone to the restaurant and look like Billy no-mates.”

Norma no-mates (UK slang) = a woman with no friends: “She doesn’t want to look like Norma no-mates.”

pour cold water on = someone who turns the atmosphere cold: “So then he had to go and pour cold water on everything by refusing to sing Happy Birthday.”

a wallflower = someone who stands on his own at parties: “Who’s the wallflower over there?”

piss on someone’s fireworks (UK slang) = ruin the happy mood: “Don’t go and piss on his fireworks by turning down the music. Let him have some fun.”

find someone in the kitchen at parties = refer to someone who doesn’t like mixing socially: “You’ll always find Kevin in the kitchen at parties.”

Dancing

a slow dance = a slow, romantic dance: “She had a slow dance with Tony.”

burn up the dance floor = dance a lot: “They like burning up the dance floor.”

dance the night away = dance all night long: “Those two danced the night away.”

dance cheek to cheek = dance very close to someone: “Everyone was looking at them dance cheek to cheek.”

have a boogie = have a dance: “Fancy a boogie?”

put on your dancing shoes = get ready for dancing: “Come on Sarah! Put on your dancing shoes – we’re going clubbing tonight!”

strut your stuff = enjoy dancing: “Look at him strut his stuff. Who does he think he is? John Travolta?”