Alphonse and Gaston

American  

Or Alphonse-and-Gaston

adjective

1. marked by a ritualistic courtliness in which two often competing participants graciously but stubbornly defer to each other.

   a kind of Alphonse and Gaston act in which each man insisted the other go through the doorway first.

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Etymology

Origin of Alphonse and Gaston

After the title characters of a cartoon strip by American cartoonist Frederick Burr Opper (1857–1937), which first appeared in 1905

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Alphonse and Gaston

Girardi, Brian Boyle and Ryan McDonagh stood in a tight triangle, playing Alphonse and Gaston with the puck.

From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2012

Now, 110 years later, economists have a name for the Alphonse and Gaston routine that's hobbling the U.S. economy: "coordination failure."

From BusinessWeek ● Jun. 2, 2011

Amid elaborate bowing, scraping, and après-vous-ing, Alphonse and Gaston never managed to make it through an open doorway.

From BusinessWeek ● Jun. 2, 2011

At the top level, away from the streets, U.S. and Soviet commandants went through an Alphonse and Gaston exchange calculated to observe the diplomatic niceties without meeting face to face.

From Time Magazine Archive

She turned away and walked toward the corral where the black omnibus horses nickered softly at her coming, while Alphonse and Gaston stood on their hind legs and squealed a vociferous welcome.

From The Lady Doc by Lockhart, Caroline