front of the house

Meanings

1. 1nounsingularspecialist

   The part of a restaurant or theatre where customers are served, and the staff who work there, as opposed to the kitchen or backstage.

   Grammar: Used with the: the front of the house.

   Patterns

   • work front of the house

   She started in the front of the house as a host.

   The chef praised the front of the house for handling the rush.

   Front of the house staff greet the guests.

2. 2phrasefixed phrase

   The side of a home that faces the street.

   Grammar: A plain literal phrase: at the front of the house.

   Patterns

   • at the front of the house

   The car is parked at the front of the house.

   A tall hedge covers the front of the house.

   They painted the front of the house blue.

Common combinations

front of the house staff

Front of the house staff were trained to handle complaints.

work front of the house

He prefers to work front of the house.

front of the house manager

The front of the house manager checked the tables.

at the front of the house

Flowers grow at the front of the house.

move to the front of the house

They moved the sofa to the front of the house.

Synonyms and how they differ

dining room

Dining room names just the physical space, not the staff.

front-end

Front-end is the technology equivalent and is not used in restaurants.

floor

The floor is a common restaurant slang for the service area.

Opposites

Word family

front-of-house adjective

Relating to the customer-facing area, often hyphenated.

front door noun

The main entrance of a building.

Commonly confused: front of the house or front house?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “front of the house”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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