afters
- 1The sweet course served at the end of a meal.
She promised the children something special for afters.
What's for afters? Is there any of that trifle left?
Similarpudding, dessert, sweet
Note
A home-kitchen word from British and Irish English, casual enough for a child asking Mum what comes after the main course. It is uncountable and usually appears in the phrase for afters (what's for afters, ice cream for afters) with no article in front. On a printed menu or in formal writing, dessert is the safer choice.
- 2The party, dancing, and celebrations held after the meal at a wedding.
Only close family came to the dinner, but the whole village was invited to the afters.
The band didn't start playing until the afters got going.
Similarparty
- 3Fighting or arguing between players away from the ball or once play has stopped.
Tempers flared and there was some afters between the defenders after the tackle.
The match was overshadowed by afters that broke out when play had already stopped.
Note
Sports reporting's word for the trouble that starts once the ball is elsewhere. It can be the needle between batsman and bowler after a bouncer, or something serious enough that the Donegal News of 2012 reports a player sent off for "overly enthusiastic afters." It is uncountable and pairs naturally with a bit of: Strauss has a bit of afters with Morkel.
- 4A drinking session held in a public house after official closing time.
Word spread that there were afters at the Crown after last orders.
They were caught having afters well past closing time.
Similarlock-in
Note
Pub talk from the UK and Ireland, often used like an adjective. Chris Difford's Some Fantastic Place (2017) describes an afters pub that shut at 11 p.m. with the doors bolted and the drinkers still inside. A landlord can also rule it out: no afters tonight. Keep it apart from the dessert meaning, because in a pub afters means drinking after closing, not something sweet.
- 5A service providing care for children at school after the regular school day ends.
The school's afters runs until six for working parents.
He spent most afternoons at afters, doing homework and playing games.
- 6Plural of after.
The display paired each set of befores and afters side by side.
Visitors lingered over the afters, amazed at how much had changed.
Note
Unlike the dessert, the party or the pub session, this is a real plural. It comes from the noun after, which names the second image in a before-and-after pair: one after, several afters, usually set beside befores. The other uses share the spelling but are uncountable nouns in their own right, so afters at a wedding never means more than one after.
afters is a form of after
after, noun: The picture in a comparison pair that shows the result of a treatment. Full entry
- Forms
- afterafters plural
- Spelling
- after → afters: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /z/.
Practice
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