Social Backwater
/ˈsoʊʃəl ˈbækwɔːtər/ noun phrase
Definition: The payback line – what you find at clubs the month before they close for the season. Can’t procrastinate any more; get out the invitations.
Etymology
In geography, a backwater is a part of a river where the current has stopped. Socially, it represents the “low-friction” end of the season when the “runway” is nearly gone. If you have been a guest at everyone else’s “shoulder home” or attended every event where they were “shooting the lights out,” the social backwater is when you must settle your “debt” of hospitality. Failing to do so before the clubs close is a “P.D.M.” of poor manners. It is the logistical “dry dock” where you must clear your desk of “stiff cards” or risk being “blackballed” next year.
Usage
Context: Used to provide “honest feedback” on the necessity of hosting an event despite a lack of energy. It implies that the “ice has almost run out” and the “unfortunate downward spiral” of the season is imminent. You are no longer hosting for fun; you are hosting to avoid a “dreadful mistake” in etiquette.
In a sentence: “The clubs close in three weeks and we still haven’t hosted a single dinner; we’re in the social backwater now, so get those invitations out today.”