Crossword Genius

Party host's timely order to give guests present? (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

attendance

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'guests present?' is the definition.
(can refer to the number of people at an event)

'party host's timely order' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'party' could be 'dance' (dance is a kind of party) and 'dance' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'to give' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for attendance that I've seen before include "Service" , "People present" , "all that turned up" , "how many are watching?" , "Presence; gate" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app