white tie and tails
1
8.1
- noun
- /waɪt taɪ ənd teɪlz/
- Formal
:
corbata blanca y chaqué
- At the gala, all the men were dressed in white tie and tails, looking very sophisticated.
- wear white tie and tails
Examples
-
He felt proud to wear his white tie and tails at the charity event, which was the height of formal attire.
-
l might even appear in white tie and tails.
-
I'm at my best in my white tie and tails.
-
In her white tie and tails, she looked like a swashbuckling Errol Flynn, starring in the new show at the club.
Fiction book (2001) -
In white tie and tails, MSO conductor John DeMain enters to loud applause.
Blog text (25) -
The guests arrived in white tie and tails, creating an elegant atmosphere for the evening's festivities.
Synonyms
2
8.2
A very formal men's suit with a coat that has a long back worn at special events
2
7.0
A very formal men's evening dress code requiring a white bow tie and tailcoat
1
6.8
Formal evening clothes for men worn at very important events
1
3.5
A formal men's outfit with a tailcoat and trousers for evening events
How Formal
- Formal
1
8.1
- Formal
2
7.0
1
3.5
- Formal
12
3.7
1
3.8
81
1.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'white' (colour) + 'tie' (neckwear) + 'tails' (tailcoat/formal suit), together describing a formal evening outfit. While the phrase is a conventional dress-code term, the constituent meanings map transparently to the overall concept, so a learner who knows the parts can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
White tie and tails comes from very formal evening clothes: a white tie and waistcoat worn with a black tailcoat that has long back tails. So, when an invitation asks for white tie and tails, it means 'the most formal men's evening dress'.