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frolic noun A lively party with music, games, dancing, and often drinking, usually held in a private home and sometimes in conjunction with a work activity or working (as a quilting frolic) or contest (as a rifle frolic). [OED dates this usage from 1645; DARE labels it "chiefly South Midland" in the U.S.]

1834 Crockett Narrative 140 Before the regular frolic commenced, I mean the dancing, I was called on to make a speech as a candidate. 1914 Arthur Western NC 268 The country "frolics" or "hoe-downs", were necessarily less recherche than the dances, hops, and germans of the present day, for, as a rule, the dancing had to take place on the uneven puncheon floors and in a very restricted space, often procured by the removal of the furniture. 1939 Hall Coll (Cherokee NC) They never had time to have [a] frolic, had to work too hard. 1959 Pearsall Little Smoky 12 El freely admitted to being a terrible sinner in his youth, fiddling and attending "frolics." 1972 Cooper NC Mt Folklore 21 Dancing parties, often referred to as frolics or hoedowns, occurred in most neighborhoods, but not in many homes of the neighborhood. These were held only in homes that had a room sufficiently large, after the furniture had been removed, to accommodate the dancers and musicians. 1995 Williams Smoky Mts Folklife 54 Workings and other community events provided occasions for dances, or "frolics," as they were often known.