Bring a plate

bring a platephrase, Australian

1. An invitation to bring food to share at a gathering. It asks for the food, not for an empty piece of crockery.
2. By extension: an invitation that assumes everyone already knows the rules.

Sense 1 paraphrases Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, On track for Australia (pre-departure guidebook), section 3.5.

The phrase is familiar enough that the federal government explains it to people preparing to move to Australia. What it doesn’t supply is a full set of instructions. That is where the interesting part begins.

Three words, several contracts

There is the literal request, and then the small negotiation around it. How much? Homemade, or is bought fine? Enough for everyone, or a contribution to the pile? Is it helpful to ask, or has asking become one more job for the host? One person’s generous invitation can be another’s guessing game.

A dish can be practical help, an expression of care, an introduction or simply the thing you had time to buy. The words alone don’t tell you which. That gap between the language and the social knowledge behind it is what this dictionary is for.

The object that stays behind

The plate, tin or container has a second social life after the food is gone. Who takes it home? Who remembers whose it was? We would like to collect real accounts of the containers that never made it back. If you have one, the contribute page is open.

A small revision

Our suggestion is that an invitation works better when the host makes the actual expectation easy to read. “Would a salad for six be useful?” is clearer than leaving guests to guess the right level of effort. Bring something if you’d like to. Here is what would help. Bought is fine. So is asking.