thé dansant

American  

[tey dahn-sahn] / teɪ dɑ̃ˈsɑ̃ /

noun

French.

plural

thés dansants

1. a tea dance.

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thé dansant British  

/ te dɑ̃sɑ̃ /

noun

1. a dance held while afternoon tea is served, popular in the 1920s and 1930s

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Etymology

Origin of thé dansant

literally: dancing tea

Example Sentences

There were dresses for a thé dansant, dainty and frosted, in a macaron palette.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 21, 2016

We went back once more to a thé dansant given for her seventeen-year-old daughter.

From Chateau and Country Life in France by Waddington, Mary Alsop King

Another beautiful brand new day to play with, a day full of delightful, adventurous surprises--a débutante's luncheon, a matinée, a thé dansant, a dinner, too.

From Out of the Ashes by Mumford, Ethel Watts

The huge room was filling rapidly; it was the hour of the thé dansant.

From Juggernaut by Campbell, Alice

On his return, he passed a florist’s, and, remembering that Frances was going that afternoon to a thé dansant, did the decent thing and sent up a dozen roses, which cost him five dollars.

From The Wall Street Girl by Wolfe, George Ellis