German to cry at parties (5)

I believe the answer is:

galas

'parties' is the definition.
(a gala is a party or social event)

'german to cry' is the wordplay.
'german' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'to cry' becomes 'alas' (I have seen 'Cry of grief' mean 'alas' so perhaps 'cry' could also mean 'alas').
'g'+'alas'='GALAS'

'at' is the link.

(Another definition for galas that I've seen is " Bashes".)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.

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