slightly
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age before beauty
A humorous way to tell someone to go ahead of one, meant as a playful insult. Chuck held the door open for Tim, motioned for him to go ahead, and said, "Age before beauty." A: "Who gets to go first?" B: "You? Age before beauty?" B: "Ha ha, very funny." After you, my dear sister. Age before beauty
rattled
1. Shocked, bewildered, flustered, or unnerved. The whole incident left me feeling pretty rattled. I know that Tom was rattled for a while after the accident.
2. slang Intoxicated from alcohol. She looked a little rattled when she was leaving, but she wasn't falling over herself or anything. I'll come out with you for a pint or two, but I don't want to get too rattled.
See also: rattle
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
age before beauty
a jocular and slightly rude way of encouraging someone to go ahead of oneself; a comical, teasing, and slightly grudging way of indicating that someone else should or can go first. "No, no. Please, you take the next available seat," smiled Tom. "Age before beauty, you know."
slightly rattled
1. Inf. upset; confused. Tom was slightly rattled by the policeman at the door. I'm slightly rattled. I'll get over it.
2. Inf. tipsy; intoxicated. He's only slightly rattled. He'll recover by morning. she can be really drunk and still seem only slightly rattled.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
rattled
1. mod. confused; bewildered. He tends to get a little rattled at minor things.
2. mod. tipsy; alcohol intoxicated. After an hour of drinking, Bill was more than a little rattled.
See also: rattle
slightly rattled
1. mod. upset; confused. (see also rattled.) Tom was slightly rattled by the trouble at the door.
2. mod. tipsy; alcohol intoxicated. She can be stone blind and still seem only slightly rattled.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
age before beauty
Defer to the older person. This phrase is traditionally used when inviting another individual to pass through a doorway before one. Eric Partridge described it as a mock courtesy uttered by a young woman to an older man. Currently it is used only ironically or sarcastically. According to an old story, it was said rather snidely by Clare Boothe Luce when ushering Dorothy Parker through a doorway, and Parker replied, “Pearls before swine.” A related cliché is after you, Alphonse—no, after you, Gaston, repeated a number of times (in Britain, after you, Claude—no, after you, Cecil). The American version is based on a comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper, Alphonse and Gaston, which was popular in the early 1900s, and pokes fun at exaggerated politeness.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer