after you

English

Phrase

after you

1. A gesture, usually polite, urging another person to take a turn at something ahead of the speaker.
   • 1840, William Dimond, Englishmen in India; a comic opera, in three acts, etc., page 73:

     [Beaufort commands him to go in] No, no, after you, Baron-I insist!

   • 2005, Keith Dixon, Ghostfires: A Novel, page 4:

     After you. I insist. And then that sharklike smile.

   • 2007, Paul Verhaeghen, Omega Minor, page 145:

     We greeted each other when we met in the hallway, from time to time we waited for the elevator together, hands folded behind our backs—no, no, after you, please! No, after you!

Derived terms

• after you, Alphonse

Translations

polite invitation for another to go first

• Dutch: na u
• Finnish: teidän jälkeenne, sinun jälkeesi
• French: après vous
• German: nach Ihnen
• Greek: περάστε (el) (peráste), περάστε πρώτος (peráste prótos)
• Hindi: पहले आप (pahle āp)
• Italian: dopo di te
• Persian: بفرمایید (fa)
• Polish: proszę (pl)
• Russian: по́сле вас (pósle vas)

See also

• ladies first