def·er·ence (d f  r-ns, dfrns)n. 1. Submission or courteous yielding to the opinion, wishes, or judgment of another. 2. Courteous respect. See Synonyms at honor. |
deference [ˈdɛfərəns]
Deference
after you, my dear Alphonse This popular catch phrase is the first half of the complete expression “After you, my dear Alphonse—no, after you, my dear Gaston.” It first appeared in the Hearst (King Features) comic strip Happy Hooligan written by F. Opper. The strip ran throughout the 1920s and for part of the 1930s. The characters Alphonse and Gaston were two extremely debonair Frenchmen who were so polite that they would jeopardize themselves in times of danger by taking the time to courteously ask each other to go first. Today, when two people go to do the same thing at the same time, one might humorously say to the other, “After you, my dear Alphonse.”
cap in hand Submissively; with a deferential air or manner. The phrase alludes to the image of a rustic or servant who self-consciously and humbly takes off his cap and holds it, usually against his chest, while speaking to someone of higher social status.
give the wall To yield the safest place; to allow another to walk on the walled side of a street. This expression is derived from an old custom which compelled pedestrians to surrender the safer, inner path bordering a roadway to a person of higher social rank. Modern social etiquette still requires a man to walk on the streetside of a female when walking along a sidewalk. A related expression, take the wall, describes the adamant perambulator who assumes the safer path closer to the wall. The inevitable friction between “givers” and “takers” is discussed by James Boswell in his Journal of a Tour of the Hebrides (1773):
In the last age … there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who took it; the peaceable and the quarrelsome.… Now it is fixed that every man keeps to the right; or, if one is taking the wall, another yields it, and it is never a dispute.
strike sail See SUBMISSION.
| Noun | 1. |  deference - a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard; "his deference to her wishes was very flattering"; "be sure to give my respects to the dean"civility, politeness - the act of showing regard for others last respects - the act of expressing respect for someone who has died; "he paid his last respects by standing quietly at the graveside" props - proper respect; "I have to give my props to the governor for the way he handled the problem" |
| 2. | deference - courteous regard for people's feelings; "in deference to your wishes"; "out of respect for his privacy" good manners, courtesy - a courteous manner | |
| 3. | deference - a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others agreeability, agreeableness - a temperamental disposition to be agreeable |
deference
respect contempt, disregard, disrespect, rudeness, dishonour, lack of respect, irreverence, insolence, impertinence, impudence, discourtesy, incivility, impoliteness
obedience disobedience, insubordination, revolt, noncompliance, nonobservance
out of or in deference to sb/sb's age → por deferencia or respeto a algn/la edad de algn
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|