Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

Hilton was already holding *court *with her moniker-friendly billionaire boyfriend Paris Latsis.

What does *court* here mean?
To court someone?

[bud]

I think it has more to do with the trappings of royalty, or possibly it is an allusion to legal courts. What it means is that she was the "leader" of the group. To say that she was holding court means that everyone deferred to her opinions, laughed at all her jokes, praised her, etc. In general, consciously or not, they acknowledged her as their leader.

[missdaredevil]

Could you use *holding court* in another sentence?

Thanks

[bud]

This is from Cambridge Dictionaries Online:

hold court (humorous)

to get a lot of attention from a group of people by talking in a way that is entertaining, especially on social occasions

In the past, a king or queen held court when they talked to the people who gave them advice.

You'll find Mick holding court in the kitchen.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=court*1+0&dict=I

So it's a little different from what I suggested... On the last example, Nick is the one doing most of the talking, and he is surrounded by a group of people giving him all of their attention.