tea party

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Tea party

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tea party (plural tea parties)

1. A semi-formal afternoon social gathering at which tea, sandwiches and cakes are served.
   • 2020 July 1, “Case Studies: Brew Monday”, in Rail, page 59:

     On January 23, MTR Elizabeth Line held an office-based tea party at which colleagues were encouraged to donate home-baked goods. It provided staff with an opportunity to take time out of their busy schedules and reminded everyone to take care of their mental health and wellbeing.

2. A type of imaginative playing in which children gather with each other or their dolls to mimic having a real tea party or other formal meal, often without any food at all.
3. (figuratively) An interaction characterized by a high degree of courtesy, delicacy, deference, and avoidance of conflict.

   Synonym: pink tea

   • 2018 June 1, Michael Moldaver, “Groia v. Law Society of Upper Canada, 2018 SCC 27”, in CanLII‎, retrieved 17 April 2021:

     Trials marked by strife, belligerent behaviour, unwarranted personal attacks, and other forms of disruptive and discourteous conduct are antithetical to the peaceful and orderly resolution of disputes we strive to achieve. By the same token, trials are not — nor are they meant to be — tea parties. […] Care must be taken to ensure that free expression, resolute advocacy and the right of an accused to make full answer and defence are not sacrificed at the altar of civility.

• coffee morning
• tea garden

• “tea party”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.