Halloween is on a Monday this year, so there won’t be a shortage of parties all weekend long. And with parties come inevitable opportunities to meet women. In fact, a Halloween party is an ideal time to meet a slew of available women. Check out this costume decoder to help you quickly hone in on the woman you want to meet.

The Halloween slut

Any Y-chromosome-bearing individual shouldn’t need help spotting the Halloween slut, but on the off chance some of you don’t get out much, just look for a short skirt and thigh-high stockings. Don’t even contemplate the potential for something meaningful with this one; however, if your intention is just a one-nighter, she’s the perfect gal for you. Odds are, she’s looking for the same thing. The odds are so good, in fact, you might not even need to buy her breakfast come November 1.

The Disney character

To fit in this category, this princess must be the nonslutty variety -- a Disney character. This girl is sure to be sweet, but possibly a little shy. Don’t count on her making the first move, even if you are doing your best imitation of a firefighter calendar cover. You’ll do better if you attempt to sweep her off her feet. After all, she may be looking for her happily ever after and you could be her Prince Charming.

The zombie

Any woman in a gory costume is qualified to fit into this category. Don’t overlook her. This girl has real potential. She’s clearly confident and fun (she went ahead and uglied herself up for the party, all in the name of getting in to the spirit of things). Don’t automatically assume she’s a tomboy either. If she did all that and still looks pretty damn good, then you can bet she looks smokin’ in her everyday clothing.

The group match

This girl is easy to spot because you’ll swear you saw her before. You did, sort of. You’ll see about 10 of her wearing the same costume. Girls dressed alike are going to be insecure (she wasn’t brave enough to flaunt something on her own) and consequently very friend-dependent. Once you go for one of the girls in this group, you’re pretty much sworn off to the rest of them (they will stick together). Choose wisely. And, once you choose, be ready, because you’ll have to pass approval from her posse first. This girl could be a one-night stand or relationship material (she’s unpredictable, it could go either way, but she’ll need direction from her gal pals before you get very far). All this adds up to one thing -- she might be way more trouble than she’s worth.

The couple match

She’s taken. Move on. Feel free to throw a look of pity in the direction of the poor whipped guy she roped into donning whatever ridiculous costume matches hers.

The clever costume

If you find yourself chuckling when you see her costume, she’s definitely in this category. Witty banter will abound with this one, but know there might be a degree of smugness and arrogance behind her clever retorts (and costume). Putting that much effort into a Halloween costume comes with a certain degree of obsessiveness. She has all the makings of a control freak. Proceed with caution.

clue into her costume

While this decoder can serve as a pretty decent guideline to help you decide which woman to buy a drink, it can in no way replace actually talking to the woman, following her signals and figuring it out yourself. You don’t need reminding that women can be a wee bit unpredictable (yes, that was a deliberate understatement). This way you can be a bit more prepared. Now all you need to do is come up with a costume.