get thee behind me

English

Etymology

Originally uttered by Christ in the King James Bible, Matthew 16:23: “get thee behind me, Satan”; Latin vāde retrō, Satanā; Ancient Greek ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ (húpage opísō mou, Satanâ).

Pronunciation

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Phrase

get thee behind me

1. (idiomatic) Do not tempt or torment me; I reject you, your statements, or your beliefs.
   • 1824, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 16, in Redgauntlet:

     “Jesu Maria!” exclaimed the younger. “Oh, fie, Sister Seraphina! Fie, fie!--VADE RETRO--get thee behind me!”

   • 1904, Jerome K. Jerome, chapter 4, in Tommy and Co.:

     Peter most assuredly would have risen in his wrath, would have said to his distinguished-looking temptress, "Get thee behind me, Miss Ramsbotham."

   • 2024 October 15, Tony Karon, “Postmodern Papacy?”, in Time‎^[1], archived from the original on 8 March 2016:

     Get thee behind me, Derrida! Skeptical postmodernists may have reduced the certainties of Western intellectual life to a pile of gaudy plastic tchotchkes, but Pope John Paul II is fighting back.

   • 2024 November 26, Ian Irvine, “btw”, in Independent‎^[2], UK, retrieved 25 August 2015:

     Get thee behind me, Santa. Curious news from Germany, where a group has launched a campaign to persuade people to turn their backs on Santa Claus and return to St Nicholas instead.