In this thread, someone made a comment about New Years Eve being “amateur night”. Basically, the concept is on certain party nights, the bars and clubs will be inundated with people who rarely drink. But they will attempt to make up for a years worth of not partying on those nights, getting ridiculously shit-faced. The implication being that these “amateurs” will then ruin the evening for “professional” party people who actually know how to handle their liquor.
For reference, the main “amateur nights” in the US are:
St Patricks’ Day
Black Wednesday (the night before Thanksgiving)
New Years Eve
Cinco De Mayo, Halloween and major sporting events are also becoming popular.
Thoughts.
Actually I’ve heard it more in reference to drinking and driving than anyone ruining an evening at a bar. The implication is that idiots who are not used to drinking will not know their limits and all hit the roads later in mass numbers.
I first heard the term from my father. Since he’s been dead for more than 25 years, it was probably about 30 years ago.
I generally enjoy watching people make obnoxious asses of themselves, while I quietly enjoy my drinks down at the end of the bar. It’s all part of the night’s entertainment. Sometimes it can be too much, but once it does, that just means it’s time to move on.
I always thought of it more along the lines of it being “amateur night” because people who frequently go drink and carouse in general have a better handle on when to stop, when not to drive, and when to stay later to sober up.
I know that’s not always true, and that the further into the “professional” ranks you get, the more likely people are to drink and drive, but in the A/AA/AAA ranks, I’d argue that they’re less likely to do something overwhelmingly stupid than some knucklehead suburban couple who never really partied after college, and whose sole alcoholic intake outside of the holidays is the occasional glass of white zinfandel after the kids are in bed on Friday night.
Hence the professional/amateur divide. An imperfect analogy would be when you fly on a Friday evening, you get all the “amateurs”, but if you fly at 7 am on a Monday morning, everyone there is a “pro”, and won’t get up immediately when the plane stops, won’t bring on 5 carry-ons that are too big for the bins, etc… Something similar goes on with partying, I suspect
Plus the “messing up the bars for regular drinkers” side of the equation ----- the types of bars that attract the “couple beers a night, every night” crowd tend to be pretty different from the ones that attract a “party/holiday” crowd. The party folks are at Applebee’s or one of the other chain-like places. The regular daily drinkers are more at places called “Chiefs” or “Dew Drop” or something like that.
Its the driving thing where amateur nights really become amateur.
As a pro, the disdain aimed at amateurs saddens me. We were all amateurs once. Don’t just snicker at the guy passed out on the bar. Waken the poor soul and offer to buy him a drink!
You’re all wrong. It’s people who don’t know how to order drinks, or don’t know what they want, or just generally clog up the smooth workings of things.
It’s like the way Tiger Woods* stopped playing the AT&T Pro-AM. When you have 6-hour rounds, it’s a different game.
*And just for the record, I am anything but TW fan!
That’s closer to my understanding of the usage. Also an insinuation that the “amateurs” are “too old” or inherently “uncool” or are otherwise unsophisticated outsiders. Like maybe people in their late 20s or 30s who moved out to the suburbs and had kids but are going to get smashed on tonight because they hired a babysitter.
It’s also very similar to the Manhattan concept of the “Bridge & Tunnel crowd”. The term sort of fell out of use as Manhattan became so expensive and Brooklyn and Queens became hipster Meccas. Basically it refers to packs of partiers who jump in their car or take the train in from the outer boroughs, NJ, Westchester and CT. Typically dressed in gaudy party wear they bought at some suburban mall, they flood into the city Friday and Saturday night, fill up the cheesiest meatmarket bars, order elaborate drinks they saw on Sex and The City, call the bartender “chief” and ask to be comped drinks and otherwise act like drunken asses.
People tend not to drive to bars in NYC so the car thing is less of a factor.
Working in a bar, this is my interpretation of amateur night. The “make me something good”, “hook it up”, “kamikaze EXTRAAA COLD”, “do you have an iPhone charger?” idiots that should be at Chili’s.
Some of it has to do with their actions as well, but it’s not so much about how they hold their liquor as it is about what they drink and their ability to order a drink without a million questions or finding some stupid shot on the internet.
The night before Thanksgiving is a big ‘amateur night’ drinking night? Really?
Because I’d think that most of the ‘amateurs’ would be on the highway, driving to wherever they’re going to be spending Thanksgiving. Or if they’re hosting Turkey Day dinner, they’re doing as much prep as can be done the day before.
I’d have guessed New Year’s Eve (of course), followed by Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, and Mardi Gras.
The night before Thanksgiving was always big with my friends when we were in college or had recently graduated. You’re back in your hometown, seeing friends, and catching up.
Hell, my friends and I still have a yearly tradition where (either the night before or after Thanksgiving), we meet for cigars and drinks at a local cigar shop / bar.
Probably about 10 years ago a couple of friends and I had a short-lived tradition of going to a particular bar on Christmas Eve because we found it amusing to have a drink in an empty bar, save for a handful of dedicated drunks. That was definitely “Pro Night.” We stopped going after a few years because the amusement had worn off and it had started to just be depressing.
TGiving Eve is a big drinking night around here. As is NewYearsEve Eve and Easter Eve. The first time we went out Easter Eve I was shocked how crazy it was.
Chiming in on “amateur night” meaning the place is flooded with drinkers who don’t understand bar etiquette. When & how much to tip, when you can order a more complicated cocktail and when doing so is a dick move. Knowing what you like and how to order it. How not to be rude to the bartender.