The life and soul of the party is the person who makes everyone have a good time: they tell jokes, start conversations and get people dancing. Party here doesn't have to be an actual party: people say it about any friendly get-together, and jokingly about a colleague who cheers up the whole department. The phrase is British; in American English it's shorter: the life of the party.
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be + the life and soul of the party; the life of the party (US)
- My uncle tells the best jokes and is always the life and soul of the party.
- She's quiet at work, but at weekends she's the life and soul of the party.
- Without Nick the barbecue felt boring; he's usually the life and soul of the party.
What changed
First versionAt university Masha was always the soul of the company.
RevisionAt university Masha was always the life and soul of the party.
Soul of the company may look like a natural way to say it, but in English a company is first of all a business, so it sounds like “the soul of the firm”. The idiom needs a party and two nouns instead of one: life and soul. So soul of the company was replaced with life and soul of the party.
Don't confuse it with party animal: that's someone who loves going out, never misses a party and is the last to leave: He's a real party animal, he goes out every Friday. A party animal has fun themselves, while the life and soul of the party makes sure others have fun. The opposite is a wet blanket, someone who spoils everyone's mood.
Your turn
Whenever Kate arrives, the music gets louder and everyone starts dancing: she's ___.
Show the answer
the life and soul of the party — When Kate arrives, everyone starts having fun: the music gets louder and people dance. So she's the life and soul of the party. A wet blanket is the opposite: someone who spoils the mood.
Describe someone who always lifts the mood when people get together. Say how they're related to you and what they do to make everyone have fun.
My cousin Pavel is the life and soul of the party: he plays the guitar and gets everyone singing.
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