by Kerry Maxwell
with recordings by speechinaction - listening and pronunciation online

 

	afterparty also after-party, after party noun [C] /ftpti/ a relaxed social gathering which occurs after a party, concert, or trip to a nightclub
	afterparty verb [I] /ftpti/

‘Going three for eight wasn’t the only thing that Mariah Carey and Kanye West had in common on Grammy night. Both also hosted the most anticipated afterparties. Revelers had to travel to a secret location in Beverly Hills and then board shuttles to get to Mariah’s party …’
(MTV News, 9^th February 2006)

‘… i can honestly recommend the marriott in brighton. that’s where we & our guests stayed (it also has a huge lobby bar that we afterpartied in...).’
(personal weblog, 9^th May 2005)

One of the movie industry’s most influential award ceremonies takes place on Sunday 5^th March 2006 - the 78^th annual Oscars, to be held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. In the aftermath of the glitz, glamour and hype, and the inevitable speculation about the winners and the reaction to them, the media will be avidly following the afterparties, the exclusive social gatherings attended by celebrities wanting to ‘chill out’ after the excitement of the ceremony.

The word afterparty, also regularly occurring as an open compound after party or hyphenated after-party, is now used to describe a social gathering which occurs after a party or other potentially noisy and crowded event such as a trip to a nightclub. It has also morphed into a verb, with some evidence for forms such as afterpartying and afterpartied as illustrated in the second citation above. Afterparties usually involve people sitting down, relaxing, chatting freely and consolidating new friendships that may have begun during the main party. If the afterparty takes place in the early hours of the morning, it may go on to include breakfast.

Though afterparties can be impromptu gatherings in the homes of ordinary people, the use of the word popularised by the media refers to a pre-planned event held at a specific venue, including cocktails, entertainment and an exclusive guest list featuring high-profile celebrities.

Background
The word afterparty first appeared in the early eighties, though has gained currency much more recently through its exposure in web-based journalism. A related term is the noun/adjective chillout (also chill-out), which emerged in the early nineties based on the phrasal verb chill out (‘to spend time relaxing’). The word chillout encapsulates the quiet period after a party or other hectic event when slow, soothing music is played in a calming atmosphere. One of its most common uses is in referring to a style of soothing music, e.g. chillout music, or simply chillout. In 2002, the idea of chilling out was taken to the extreme in the new concept of a quiet party, an unconventional social gathering in which loud noise and talking are prohibited, with guests often communicating though hand-written notes.

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