not stand on ceremony
To not observe or hold strictly to protocol or formalities. Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Time is of the essence, so let's get started right away and not stand on ceremony. Please, don't stand on ceremony on my behalf—keep eating!
stand on ceremony
To observe or adhere strictly or insistently to formalities or traditional protocol. We've all been acquainted already, so there's no need to stand on ceremony for this interview. Please, don't stand on ceremonies on my behalf—keep eating!
without ceremony
Without the niceties or etiquette normally demanded by the social situation; roughly, informally, or uncouthly. Without ceremony, the new police chief barged into the room and began barking orders at the officers. It was a little disenchanting when he just signed my copy of his book without ceremony and sent me on my way. He didn't even look up from the table!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
stand on ceremony
to hold rigidly to protocol or formal manners. (Often in the negative.) Please help yourself to more. Don't stand on ceremony. We are very informal around here. Hardly anyone stands on ceremony.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
not stand on ceremony
If you do not stand on ceremony, you act in a relaxed and informal way with someone. Do call me Amelia, dear. We don't stand on ceremony in this family.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
stand on ceremony
insist on the observance of formalities; behave formally.without ceremony
without preamble or politeness.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
stand on ˈceremony
(British English) behave in a very formal way: Come on — don’t stand on ceremony! Start eating or the food will get cold!without ˈceremony
in a very rough or informal way: He found himself pushed without ceremony out of the house and into the street.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
stand on ceremony, to
To behave very formally. This term, in which stand on has nothing to do with rising to one’s feet but rather means “to insist on,” dates from the nineteenth century. It appeared in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (1798): “I never stand upon ceremony.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer