bun-fight

9.1

A large formal party for an important occasion

noun
/bʌn faɪt/

: fiesta

The annual awards ceremony turned into quite the bun-fight, with celebrities mingling and speeches aplenty.

Examples

Invitations to the royal bun-fight were highly coveted among politicians and society figures.
She had to buy a new dress for the embassy's bun-fight next weekend.
The charity hosted a grand bun-fight last weekend.
Everyone was excited for the annual bun-fight in London.
The charity hosted a grand bun-fight last weekend to celebrate their anniversary.
Invitations to the royal bun-fight were highly coveted among politicians and society figures.
She had to buy a new dress for the embassy's bun-fight next weekend.

Synonyms

shindig

vsbun-fight

Informal

29 8.6

A lively informal party with music and dancing

is a formal elaborate celebration for important occasions rather than an informal event

bunfight

vsbun-fight

9.9

A formal, often grand party to celebrate an important event

has identical meaning but uses the hyphenated written form

How Formal

gala

72 3.7

bun-fight

9.1

reception

167 3.3

party

∞ 1.0

get-together

Informal

46 1.9

Surface Forms

bun-fight singular

bun-fights plural

Morphology

bun-fight = bun + fight (opaque) = bun + fight

Although formed from 'bun' + 'fight', the sense 'grand formal party' is idiomatic and cannot be predicted from the component meanings.

Etymology

Bun-fight probably comes from a funny picture of people rushing for bun ('small sweet bread') at a fancy tea, a kind of fight over the treats. So today a bun-fight means a big, often very formal party where people meet and sometimes try to get attention.