skunk at a garden party
- idiom
- Offensive
:
aguafiestas
- His negative attitude made him feel like a skunk at a garden party during the celebration.
Examples
-
This is the skunk at the garden party.
-
No one wanted to invite her because she always came across as a skunk at a garden party at social gatherings.
-
When he criticized the speaker, he really acted like a skunk at a garden party, ruining the event for everyone.
Synonyms
16
6.4
A person who ruins other people's fun at a party
1
7.2
A person or thing that ruins the fun at a party
Antonyms
How Unwelcome
- Offensive
- Informal
7
7.0
- Offensive
7
5.6
- Informal
16
6.4
- Offensive
4
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
skunk + at + a + garden + party
The phrase evokes a clear, literal image: a skunk (an unpleasant/undesirable animal or person) at a garden party (a pleasant social gathering), so the idea of someone who spoils or is unwelcome at an event is directly inferable from the parts. This pictorial, compositionally straightforward metaphor should be accessible to a B1 learner who knows 'skunk' and 'garden party', so it is transparent.
Etymology
Skunk at a garden party creates a clear picture: imagine a real skunk turning up at a nice garden party and spraying its awful smell, making guests leave and ruining the mood. That's why it means 'a person whose presence or actions are unwelcome and spoil a gathering'.