Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

So are successful women doomed to a life of tense *cheese-tray*introductions?

What does that mean?

Thanks

[pugachevV]

It may allude to the fact that at *beep* (and other) parties in some countries, there are often trays with many different kinds of cheese that is served as snacks to accompany the drinks. The idea, at such parties, is often to get to know people, and so the host will introduce each guest to all the other guests (who then immediately forget his name) these parties can be fun after a few drinks but they can also be a bit tense.

[advoca]

Your quotation is from an article given in MSN Dating and Personals section. The author starts off:

Here�s the scene: A woman is at her neighbor�s get-together when she meets a man. He asks her, �What do you do?�

Some women (unmarried women) dread revealing their occupation, particularly women with impressive jobs�doctors, lawyers, engineers (and I would add, scientists). The reason they dread this is that such high-powered jobs often frighten men off. Such women often find it difficult to find a husband.�So, are successful women doomed to a life of tense cheese-tray introductions,� the author asks.

She goes on to say, �of course not. These women can either be patient till an equally high-powered man or a naturally confident fella turns up. Or they can know how best to present their career so as not to scare off less-assured guys.�

The words in brackets are mine, incidentally.

But I hope you get the idea, and now understand what the author is getting at. She is advising women with high degrees and high-level high-powered jobs how to pick up a husband.

The article is written in very loose vernacular and there are grammatical and punctuation mistakes too. It is not the best of articles for most English learners to study.

Incidentally, in Britain it is more usual to say cheese board rather than cheese tray. In many restaurants, especially where there is a buffet, there is usually a board on which assorted cheeses are placed together with water biscuits (plain crackers) and french bread. And we would not throw a cheese-tray get-together; we would throw a cheese and wine party.