mistress of ceremonies

English

Noun

mistress of ceremonies (plural mistresses of ceremonies)

1. (dated) A woman who acts as a host at a formal event.
   • 1873, Harriet Beecher Stowe, We and Our Neighbors, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Chapter , p. 186,^[1]

     At this moment, Eva came up in her authoritative way as mistress of ceremonies, took Mr. St. John by the arm, and, walking across with him, seated him by Sibyl Selwyn, introduced them to each other, and left them.

2. A woman who conducts a programme of varied entertainment, for example by introducing performers to the audience.
   • 1950, “Spanish Omelet,” Time, 23 January, 1950,^[2]

     The mistress of ceremonies, a local poetess named Alicia Larralde de Ferrero, did not observe that more than a dozen uninvited guests had joined the audience.

   • 2005, “Suzanne Flon,” The Guardian, 18 June, 2005,^[3]

     Her first real job in show business was as mistress of ceremonies at the Etoile music hall, in a revue that starred Mistinguett; she later said that it had taught her “to walk on stage”.

See also

• master of ceremonies