tea party

American  

noun

1. a social gathering, usually in the afternoon, at which tea and light refreshments are served.

2. (initial capital letters) a conservative political movement in the U.S. that opposes taxes and government spending: named in reference to the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

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Tea Party ¹ British  

noun

1. (in the US) a political movement, associated with the right wing of the Republican Party, favouring reduction in taxation and government spending

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tea party ² British  

noun

1. a social gathering in the afternoon at which tea is served

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Etymology

Origin of tea party

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

In a set of playful experiments modeled after children's tea parties, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have shown for the first time that apes can use imagination and take part in pretend play.

From Science Daily

He imagined the color and chaos of a tea party in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

From Literature

"Spending the day with my whole family and enjoying a lovely afternoon tea party with plenty of bubbles made it especially memorable," she said.

From BBC

The sold-out gathering at the Strand was one of six tea parties being thrown throughout the country by the publisher to commemorate Austen’s semiquincentennial.

From Los Angeles Times

And enduring the icebreaker incident on “The Bachelor” with my daughters was certainly a long way from having tea parties with their American Girl dolls when they were little.

From The Wall Street Journal