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No matter how many UK shows I watch I am always thrown off by when they say "fancy dress." It doesn't mean a nice and pretty dress or

Posted by Krusty (aka Krustylu) Nov 20 '22, 05:45

for men a nice suit or tux. It means costume. A fancy dress party is a costume party. Also, I'm curious how fancy dress came to mean costume.
Sometimes I'm not sure we speak the same language as the British.

Responses:

We use both meanings of fancy just to confuse things. - LMS Nov 20, 06:59 2
- Of course. 😆 -- nm - Krusty Nov 20, 07:00 1
  - Spoiler for the most recent Taskmaster episode... - Krusty Nov 20, 07:07
I think we’re the ones who conflated “fancy” with “formal”. -- (edited) - znufrii Nov 20, 06:05 7
- I'm not sure I agree with you here. While the EOD has the third entry as [only before noun] (especially of small things) with a lot of decorations or -- (edited) - Krusty Nov 20, 06:19 6
  - this says the term came from 19th century press describing outfits at costume parties. nm but: -- (link) - i.b! Nov 20, 06:38 4
    - Interesting, thanks! -- nm - znufrii Nov 20, 06:59
    - Thanks! I can see why it was used that way originally but I just can't read it or hear it and think of a costume and not a gown. -- nm - Krusty Nov 20, 06:43 2
      - Think of it as closer to fanciful. -- nm - Andie Nov 20, 07:14 1
        
        *nods* Makes sense. -- nm - Krusty Nov 20, 07:35
  - When you fancy someone, you crush on them. Clearly, the answer is to dress like a clown. -- nm - con_carne Nov 20, 06:21

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No matter how many UK shows I watch I am always thrown off by when they say "fancy dress." It doesn't mean a nice and pretty dress or

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