# тусовочный человек



## esperansa

Hi.
How to say "тусовочный человек" in English in the following context:

Я не тусовочный человек, но иногда посещаю шумные мероприятия для разнообразия.

The phrase in blue means that a person is not into public events, dancing in nightclubs, noisy crowds flocking to a major festival or concert.


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## Enquiring Mind

Hi esperansa, I don't think there's an adjective in English for тусовочный, and you'd have to use a suitable paraphrase for the specific context. So something like "I'm not really one for noisy crowds", "I'm not really one for going out much", "I'm not someone who craves the company of others" or "I'm not a particularly gregarious person". Maybe in contexts such as the one below, "I'm not really a party animal", where "party" can be understood as any gathering of people for entertainment or socialising, and not strictly speaking, a "party".

_ Тамара Михайловна, создается впечатление, что вы никогда не сидите на месте. Не успело закончиться гастрольное лето, а вы уже готовитесь к новому театральному сезону, вновь запускаете свой моноспектакль «И Бог создал женщину». Признайтесь честно, вы трудоголик?_
— Думаю, что да. У меня нет ни выходных, ни праздников (смеется). Я даже в отпуске продолжаю репетировать, обдумывать какие-то новые проекты. *Я не тусовочный человек*, как принято говорить. Отдых для меня — это прежде всего покой, природа, общение с близкими и полноценный сон." (source: trud.ru)


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## esperansa

Thank you, Enquiring Mind for a lot of equivalents in English. I think "*party animal*" is the most suitable in this context. I heard of this before, but could not recollect it.


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## Rosett

A "*party-goer*" sounds less pretentious than "party animal" in your context.


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## Enquiring Mind

Hi Rosett, there's nothing pretentious about party animal.  Party-goer isn't suitable because it can only mean someone who goes to parties. A party animal has a wider sense of someone who seeks out and enjoys the company of other people, but not necessarily at a party.


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## Rosett

Enquiring Mind said:


> Hi Rosett, there's nothing pretentious about party animal.  Party-goer isn't suitable because it can only mean someone who goes to parties. A party animal has a wider sense of someone who seeks out and enjoys the company of other people, but not necessarily at a party.


"Party-goer" has two meanings, the second one being:
*2. *a person who goes to a lot of parties

Also, "party" is one of the good translations for "тусовка."

"Party animal" belongs mainly to the slang, not justified by the OP context, and, yes, bears a much wider sense than simple "тусовочник."

*party animal*
_n._ _Slang_
One who frequently celebrates or carouses in a rowdy or boisterous way.
_n. _ _Slang._
a person who enjoys going to or giving parties, usu. as often as possible.
*party animal*
_n._ someone who loves parties. My boyfriend and I are real party animals. Let’s party!


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## esperansa

Rosett said:


> A "*party-goer*" sounds less pretentious than "party animal" in your context.


I agree with EM about this meaning, but thanks anyway.


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## Sobakus

Rosett said:


> "Party animal" belongs mainly to the slang, not justified by the OP context, and, yes, bears a much wider sense than simple "тусовочник."


If _тусо́вка_ and its derivatives aren't slang, then nothing is. The first thing that came to my mind was _party animal_ as it fits both the style and the meaning and to be honest looks suspiciously like the source of the Russian phrase. And yes, it does look quite out of place in the context (especially in #2, hence _"как принято говорить"_), but English is incomparably more tolerant to slang so it's not a problem there.


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## Rosett

Well, that's where the problem is: the awkward input in the OP. 


esperansa said:


> Я не тусовочный человек, но иногда посещаю шумные мероприятия для разнообразия.


The entire phrase doesn't prompt or justify use of slang in Russian.


Sobakus said:


> If _тусо́вка_ and its derivatives aren't slang, then nothing is. The first thing that came to my mind was _party animal_ as it fits both the style and the meaning and to be honest looks suspiciously like the source of the Russian phrase. And yes, it does look quite out of place in the context (especially in #2, hence _"как принято говорить"_), but English is incomparably more tolerant to slang so it's not a problem there.


Use of slang in a plain phrase irritates much more in English than the same in Russian, even if spoken with reservation like in


Enquiring Mind said:


> *Я не тусовочный человек*, как принято говорить


. It's almost ridiculous to say in English: "I'm not a party animal, as it is common/customary to say."


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## Sobakus

Rosett said:


> Use of slang in a plain phrase irritates much more in English than the same in Russian, even if spoken with reservation like in
> . It's almost ridiculous to say in English: "I'm not a party animal, as it is common/customary to say."


I'd honestly like to see the reaction of the English Only forum to this. Or, rather, have you read it.


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## Colora

Couldn't you say this as "I'm not much of a party-person" or "I'm not so much of a party-person", for example? So, the whole sentence will look like this: I'm not (so) much of a party-person, however, I sometimes go out to loud parties (soirees) just to do something different.


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## esperansa

Colora said:


> Couldn't you say this as "I'm not much of a party-person" or "I'm not so much of a party-person", for example? So, the whole sentence will look like this: I'm not (so) much of a party-person, however, I sometimes go out to loud parties (soirees) just to do something different.


Thank you for a good translation. In my view, "party person" sounds neutral and perfect in this context.


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## Sobakus

esperansa said:


> Thank you for a good translation. In my view, "party person" sounds neutral and perfect in this context.


I feel it can only mean a literal lover of parties (the ones with dancing and alcohol), not a person frequenting public gatherings/social events, which seems to be the intended meaning.


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## esperansa

Sobakus said:


> I feel it can only mean a literal lover of parties (the ones with dancing and alcohol), not a person frequenting public gatherings/social events, which seems to be the intended meaning.


I think you are right.
As an alternative to the mentioned variants , one could utter, "I can't say I like to rage". But it is very informal and less suitable as compared to other translations.


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## Sobakus

esperansa said:


> I think you are right.
> As an alternative to the mentioned variants , one could utter, "I can't say I like to rage".


Are you sure?  Can you provide a source of this usage? I've seen and can imagine some non-orthodox use of this word, but not in this sense or context.


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## esperansa

Sobakus said:


> Are you sure?  Can you provide a source of this usage? I've seen and can imagine some non-orthodox use of this word, but not in this sense or context.



Two native speakers of English used this word in the English forum here /threads/party-person-vs-party-animal


http://www.oxforddictionaries.com
Australian /NZ informal: Go out and enjoy oneself socially.


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## Sobakus

esperansa said:


> Two native speakers of English used this word in the English forum here /threads/party-person-vs-party-animal
> 
> 
> http://www.oxforddictionaries.com
> Australian /NZ informal: Go out and enjoy oneself socially.


Well, firstly, it's clearly very slangy which you seem to be looking to avoid despite the Russian phrase (and specifically Au/NZ), and secondly, it's 100% locked to the meaning "to party loudly". Plus, I can hardly imagine it with negation, it sounds very ambiguous. I don't think it's an option here.


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## esperansa

Sobakus said:


> Well, firstly, it's clearly very slangy which you seem to be looking to avoid despite the Russian phrase (and specifically Au/NZ), and secondly, it's 100% locked to the meaning "to party loudly". Plus, I can hardly imagine it with negation, it sounds very ambiguous. I don't think it's an option here.



Maybe it is not an option here. However, the Oxford dictionary defines it as "to go out and enjoy oneself socially". So I don't think this meaning is limited only to loud parties.


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## Sobakus

esperansa said:


> Maybe it is not an option here. However, the Oxford dictionary defines it as "to go out and enjoy oneself socially". So I don't think this meaning is limited only to loud parties.


As is evedent from the results on the Urban Dictionary, the OED is being remarkably restrained with their definition. To cite the most illustrative one:


> _Rage_: The act of drinking excessively, spending lots of money, causing destruction, and fucking your life up in the course of a single night. Consequences of a rage typically consist of loss of memory, STD's, unwanted children with fat chicks, depleted bank accounts, fights, break ups, drunken calling and texts, loss of vehicle in Vegas parking lots, and next day facebook posts of FML!


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## esperansa

Sobakus, yes it is slangy . Thanks for your input.


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