| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
| |
| party (n.) |
| |
| |
| meaning “person,” was at one time thought to be Common or Vulgar English, but in fact the word in this sense, singular and plural, has been in Standard use for centuries. There is a good deal of legal use (the party of the first part and the party of the second part) and considerable jocular use (a really funny old party, but very sound in his views), but it is also regularly used in serious, quasi-legal contexts as well, as in We urged the parties to the quarrel to discuss their differences. Just don’t use it as a synonym for person(s) in most nontechnical contexts. | 1 |
| |
| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
|
|
