12

If a person is very social in a party, striking up conversations with different people from one end of the hall to the other end, are there some good expressions to describe this person? In Chinese, we say she is a butterfly dancing among the flowers. What is the closest expression or metaphor in English?

Improve this question
3
  • Anyone familiar with Tom Berenger's portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt on TV a few years ago will understand when I propose Bull Moose as an answer for this question.
    – Pieter Geerkens
    Dec 2 '13 at 0:31
  • The adjective form for such a person is extroverted. As you seem to be asking about a noun for such a person, stick with the suggested "social butterfly".
    – Patrick M
    Dec 2 '13 at 2:02
  • 1
    What I generally call them isn't fit to print on a family website :)
    – calum_b
    Dec 2 '13 at 10:31
29

An almost exact English equivalent is social butterfly.

Note how the etymology mirrors the Chinese expression:

Definition: a very sociable person who flits from one social event to another

Etymology: likened to a butterfly flitting between flowers

Improve this answer
13

You could also say (s)he's the life of the party

Improve this answer
1
  • 3
    Often augmented to "life and soul of the party".
    – Ste
    Dec 2 '13 at 8:55
9

They could be described as gregarious.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gregarious

Improve this answer
5

Another phrase is "belle of the ball." "Social butterfly" might have a slightly negative connotation in certain contexts. "Belle of the ball" literally means the "the beautiful one at the dance" but is often used to describe a young lady who is socially adept at a particular event and is generally a positive description of such a person.

Improve this answer
5
  • Can you expand on what sort of negative connotations "social butterfly" might have? I've personally never heard of any.
    – Roddy of the Frozen Peas
    Dec 2 '13 at 2:02
  • 4
    Not a bad answer, but it turns the question sideways. A social butterfly seeks out other people to interact with. The belle of the ball, on the other hand, is the one most sought after (regardless of how outgoing he or she may be).
    – Patrick M
    Dec 2 '13 at 2:04
  • 4
    @RoddyoftheFrozenPeas, a social butterfly flits from group to group at a party but isn't necessarily able to form firm friendships with anybody.
    – The Photon
    Dec 2 '13 at 4:10
  • 2
    @RoddyoftheFrozenPeas: “social butterfly” has a slight connotation (to me) that their social interactions tend to be only superficial.
    – PLL
    Dec 2 '13 at 19:21
  • the social butterfly considers touching every flower as the only measure of goodness. Negative connotations: Shallow. Fickle. Overly about appearance over substance. Social but not too intelligent. Unable to have depth.
    – EngrStudent
    Jan 28 '18 at 23:12
3

I would say that the person has an outgoing nature.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.