# Et tu, Brute?

idiom · CEFR C1 · Literary

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/et-tu-brute
Updated: 2026-08-03

## Meaning

Said when the person betraying you is the last one you expected.

## Examples

- You voted against me too? Et tu, Brute?
- When his oldest colleague signed the complaint, he read the list of names twice and muttered, "Et tu, Brute?"
- He had expected opposition from the newer partners and had prepared for it; what he had not prepared for was the Et tu, Brute? moment of finding his mentor's signature at the bottom of the page.

## Origin

Marcus Junius Brutus owed Caesar a great deal. Caesar had pardoned him after he fought on the losing side of the civil war, promoted him, and was rumoured — probably wrongly — to be his father. Brutus was among the men with knives in the Senate on 15 March 44 BC. Ancient accounts disagree about what Caesar said. Suetonius reports that he died without a word, though he adds that some claimed he spoke to Brutus in Greek: kai su, teknon — you too, child. The Latin Et tu, Brute? is not from any Roman source at all. It was already circulating on the Elizabethan stage when Shakespeare gave it to Caesar in 1599, and it is Shakespeare's version that stuck. In English the phrase is used, usually with a note of theatre, at the moment a friend or ally turns out to have joined the other side. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.