party pooper
16
6.4
- noun
- /ˈpɑrti ˈpuːpər/
- Informal
:
aguafiestas
- Why are you such a party pooper?
- a big party pooper
- party pooper, said
- like a party pooper
And then you can say stuff like don't be a party pooper.
- And then you can say stuff like don't be a party pooper.
- Some art friends said that, Oh, science kind of just is the party pooper.
Examples
-
Gus, I don't mean to be a party pooper, but it's really late.
-
Don't be such a party pooper and join us for the celebration!
-
What are you, party pooper?
-
Oh, all right, party pooper.
-
"You are the worst party pooper," he tells me.
Fiction book (2000) -
Nobody likes a party pooper.
Fiction book (1998) -
- I don't want to be a party pooper.
-
Don't be a party pooper.
-
You're such a party pooper.
-
Oh, come on, don't be such a party pooper.
Synonyms
21
7.9
A person who spoils fun for others
8
6.9
A person who stops other people from having fun
7
5.6
A person who makes other people lose interest or excitement
4
6.5
A person who ruins other people's fun by complaining or refusing to join
1
7.2
A person or thing that ruins the fun at a party
1
9.9
A person or thing that ruins a happy event by causing embarrassment
A person who stops others from having fun by complaining
A person who makes others feel awkward at a social gathering
Antonyms
How Fun
- Informal
1
5.3
10
3.0
- Offensive
8
6.9
- Informal
16
6.4
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound shows some compositional cues: 'party' plus the agentive suffix -er signals a person related to a party, so learners can guess it denotes someone who acts at or toward parties. However, the negative meaning depends on the slang/metaphorical use of 'poop' (as in 'poop on someone's parade' = spoil), which is not transparently derived from the literal sense and may be unknown to a B1 learner, so the exact sense 'spoils other people's enjoyment' is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Party pooper may come from the simple image of someone who 'poops' a party, and a pooper is someone who stops the fun by complaining, being negative, or leaving early. So party pooper now means 'a person who spoils other people's enjoyment'.