age before beauty
A phrase said to allow older people to go before younger ones.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Age before beauty, so please go through the door first.”
“As we reached the elevator, my grandfather gestured for me to enter, but I smiled and said, age before beauty.”
“With a playful bow and a polite gesture toward the entrance, he insisted that age before beauty should be the rule of the day.”
- 01
act one's age
To behave in a manner appropriate to one's age.
- 02
act one's age, not one's shoe size
Synonym of act one's age (“to behave in a mature manner; to avoid being childish”).
- 03
beauty queen
The female winner of a beauty contest.
- 04
beauty sleep
Originally, sleep taken before midnight, on the belief that early sleep hours conduce to beauty and health; now (chiefly humorous), sleep at any time needed by one to stay beautiful; (countable) an instance of such sleep.
- 05
come of age
To reach a specific age where one is legally considered to be an adult.
- 06
coon's age
A very long time.
- 07
day and age
A time period of years or more.
- 08
for the ages
Especially memorable and noteworthy; deserving to endure for a very long time.
Last updated August 10, 2026