by-your-leave
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of by-your-leave
First recorded in 1910–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If Chris’ idea of “doing you a favor” is unilaterally telling your kid “Hey, call me Dad” without so much as a by-your-leave beforehand, I’m concerned about what else he might think is a favor.
From Slate • Nov. 28, 2020
Her health minister harrumphed about international “free agents” doing as they pleased without so much as a by-your-leave from the Liberian government.
From New York Times • Oct. 30, 2014
Not content with this bizarre behavior, and without so much as a by-your-leave, he proceeded to distribute pieces of my entree onto the plates of the other diners.
From Slate • May 18, 2013
Editor Fishbein had opinions on everything even remotely medical and expressed them unhesitatingly, often without a by-your-leave to A.M.A.'s top officers and trustees.
From Time Magazine Archive
Surely it was the admiral’s problem if his ostrich was so ill-mannered that it ran away without so much as a by-your-leave?
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
