Guide to party invitations

Have you ever got an invitation – through the Facebook events mechanism, by text, or traditionally, handwritten on a card – and wonder what some of the phrases mean? Don’t worry about commiting a faux pas anymore. This handy guide will introduce you to the most commonly used party invitation idioms.

“Bring your +1”

You can bring a guest, but only one.

“Bring your +n, n ∈ ℕ”

You can bring more than one guest, but make sure the number of your guests is an integer. Respect your hosts’ will and refrain from bringing fractions of people.

“Bring your +a, a ∈ ℤ”

The number of your guests can be positive or negative. It is permissible to come for awhile, either alone or with somebody, and then leave, taking some people with you, as long as you take away only complete people. Taking away parts of people is forbidden.

“Bring your +a, a ∈ ℝ”

Any real number of additional guests is acceptable. The party is irrational-friendly: you might bring your friend shamans, telepaths, psychotronicians, chaos magicians and so on.

“Bring your +a+ib, a,b ∈ ℝ”

You are allowed to bring a complex number of guests. The real part is to be understood as above. The imaginary part means that the party is open to imaginary friends, tulpas, genies, and thoughtforms. Be careful, though: for such an inclusive kind of party, arriving alone might be a slight faux pas.