Learn Swedish: Ring hovmästaren. Stamgästen kommer först klockan åtta. - Call the maître d'. The regular guest isn't coming until eight.

While först often means "first", when used as an adverb with a specific time expression like klockan åtta (eight o'clock), it means "not until" or "only at". It highlights a delayed realization, emphasizing that the event is happening later than someone might have expected.

Could I use inte förrän instead of först to mean "not until" in this sentence?

Yes, but you would have to change the structure. Först is an affirmative adverb, so the verb stays positive (kommer först). Because förrän requires a negation, you would have to say Stamgästen kommer inte förrän klockan åtta. Both are perfectly natural at B2 level, but först is slightly more concise.

What is the literal breakdown of the word stamgästen?

It is a compound of stam (stem, trunk, or tribe) and gästen (the guest). In Swedish, adding stam- to a noun is the standard way to describe a "regular", as in stamkund (regular customer) or stamställe (regular hangout spot).

Why is the maître d' called hovmästaren?

Literally, it translates to "the court master" (hov meaning royal court, and mästaren meaning the master). While it historically referred to a high-ranking official at a royal court, in modern Swedish it is the everyday term for a restaurant's head waiter or maître d'.