Have you ever gatecrashed?

Whats the word Gate Crashing mean ?

Very recently, Vijay Mallya, declared a proclaimed offender in a money laundering case, was spotted at a book launch event in London. His presence at the event made the Indian High Commissioner Navtej Sarna leave the venue. Reacting to media reports that he was not invited to the book launch event in London, Vijay Mallya took to Twitter. One of his tweets read:  “Thank You. I am not a gate crasher and would never be one.” He also retweeted Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s tweet: “Mallya would never gate crash any event. He must have been invited at the book launch event.”

A regular reader of this column suggested that I discuss the word “gate-crash” in the column. What is the meaning of the word? From the tweets above, it is easy to guess the meaning. To gatecrash (which can also be spelt ‘gate-crash’) means to attend an invitation-only party or an event without an official invitation. The person who gatecrashes is known as a gate-crasher. Gatecrashing (also spelt ‘gate-crashing’) is the act of attending an event without invitation. Another term for ‘gatecrashing’ is party crashing. Below are examples of how the terms are used in sentences:

• Gatecrashing a private event is not good.
• We expected around 500 guests but over 600 attended the party. Some of them must be gatecrashers.
• A Spanish student gate-crashed the coronation reception of King Felipe VI.

The word ‘gatecrash’ can also be used figuratively:

• Some bold women have gatecrashed the male-dominated industries and occupations.

In the sentence above, the term ‘gatecrash’ has a different shade of meaning: ‘to succeed in an adventurous manner’. Some adventurous women have entered male-dominated fields against all odds.  ‘Gatecrash’, in general, is a term with a negative connotation but in this example, it has a positive connotation.

To crash a party is an idiomatic expression which also means the same. Here are authentic examples from the print media:

• Crashing a party can be a great way to meet new people.
• How to crash a party like a pro

There are a few other words in English which are synonyms of ‘gatecrasher’. An interloper is a person who becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted or are considered not to belong.” Look at this example:

• The party, arranged exclusively for the students of the college, was attended by some interlopers.

The other words that we can use in the place of ‘gatecrash’ are: crash, sneak in, and barge in.

• She will somehow crash the party. 
• He doesn’t have a ticket but he knows how to sneak in.
• You don’t have to get the professor’s permission.  You can barge in to his office.

Whether Vijay Mallya gatecrashed the book launch event or not is not a question but whether it is possible for the government to gatecrash Mr Mallya is the key question that needs to be answered.

Dr Albert P’ Rayan is an ELT Resource Person and Professor of English. He can be contacted at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk