by tour leave

The meaning and origin of the expression: Without so much as a by your leave

Without so much as a by your leave

What's the meaning of the phrase 'without so much as a by your leave'.

Without even asking for permission.

By your leave might be said by an inferior person (by status or military rank) when making a request to a superior to do something. Im modern day language it is equivalent to (I will do the thing) 'with your permission'.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Without so much as a by your leave'?

'Without so much as a by your leave' is an old phrase but is still often used when someone, who might have been expected to have asked permission first, is disapproved of for acting on their own authority. The expression began life in the early 19th century. The first mention that I can find of a version in print is from The New-England Magazine Volume 3 , September 1832:

The evil creature [a mosquito] ... lit upon my forehead. Already he had inserted his atrocious tube, and was drawing blood, without so much as the civility of By your leave.

An example of the precise current version came a few years later, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 51 , 1842:

"You [an itinerant peasant] have taken a place by our fire, without so much as a 'by your leave'".

This expression is an unusual example of a phrase made from two separate phrases. The form 'without so much as...' has been used since the 16th century to indicate that someone had failed to do something that they had been expected to do; for example, this piece from The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia , by Sir Philip Sidney, 1590:

Lifting his feete aboue his head, making a great deale of salt water to come out of his mouth, they layd him vpon some of their garments... At length, opening his eyes, he gaue a great groane... Hee (without so much as thanking them for their paines) gate vp. [ got up ]

Before we can decipher what 'without so much as a by your leave' means, we also need to understand 'by your leave'. I have to admit that, as a callow youth and when my mother used this phrase, I thought it was 'without a by or leave', not really knowing what a 'by' or a 'leave' might be.

To 'ask leave' of someone wasn't to request to depart their presence but to ask permission of them to do something and, as it would only be asked of someone who had the power to grant or bar such permission, it was often expressed as 'by your leave, sire'. That may be the association that has caused another misstated version of it, as 'by your liege'.

'Leave' has been used with the meaning of permission since at least the 9th century. It was still commonplace in Shakespeare's day and he used it numerous times in his plays, for example, in The Merchant of Venice , 1596:

Shylock: I pray you give me leave to go from hence.

Very soon after that comes the first example of 'by your leave' that I can find in print, in Henry Buttes'  Dyets drie dinner , 1599:

(by thy leaue) Ile be a Guest of thine.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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• by-your-leave

an apology for not having sought permission.

Origin of by-your-leave

Words nearby by-your-leave.

• by word of mouth
• Byzantine chant
• Byzantine Church
• Byzantine Empire

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use by-your-leave in a sentence

The idea of going right into the pantry without a how-do-you-do 21 or a by-your-leave !

Two pompous, red-cheeked, red-necked individuals stepped forward, without so much as a " by-your-leave !"

Without a by-your-leave , Judy snatched up one from the top and bound it around the poor gory leg.

What on earth possessed Humphrey and Susan to take you off to a house like that, without a with-your-leave or a by-your-leave ?

You come down here without a with-your-leave or a by-your-leave , and act as if you were master.

British Dictionary definitions for by-your-leave

a request for permission (esp in the phrase without so much as a by-your-leave )

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

by-your-leave

English [ edit ], noun [ edit ].

by - your - leave ( plural by-your-leaves )

• Alternative spelling of by your leave

• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English countable nouns
• English multiword terms

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Meaning of without so much as a by-your-leave in English

Without so much as a by-your-leave.

• churlishness
• coarse-grained
• neanderthal
• obnoxiously
• obnoxiousness
• offensively
• offensiveness
• unceremonious
• unprintable

Translations of without so much as a by-your-leave

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acting or speaking together, or at the same time

Alike and analogous (Talking about similarities, Part 1)

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by your leave noun

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What does the phrase by your leave mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the phrase by your leave . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

How is the phrase by your leave pronounced?

British english, u.s. english, where does the phrase by your leave come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the phrase by your leave is in the 1910s.

OED's earliest evidence for by your leave is from 1914, in the writing of Helen Martin.

by your leave is formed within English, by conversion.

Etymons: English by your leave .

Nearby entries

• byward | bywards, adv. 1556–1674
• by-wash, n. 1885–
• bywater, n. 1878–
• byway, n. 1330–
• bywent, adj. a1522–33
• bywhopen, adj. 1658–1775
• by-wipe, n. 1641–
• bywoner, n. 1886–
• byword, n. Old English–
• by-work, n. 1587–
• by your leave, n. 1914–
• Byzantian, adj. & n. a1620–
• Byzantine, adj. & n. 1599–
• Byzantine Empire, n. 1693–
• Byzantinesque, adj. 1879–
• Byzantinism, n. 1855–
• Byzantinist, n. 1892–
• Byzantinize, v. 1855–
• Bz, n. 1895–
• Bz, n. 1833–
• BZP, n. 1997–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, entry history for by your leave, n..

by your leave, n. was first published in 1933; not yet revised.

by your leave, n. was last modified in September 2023.

Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:

• corrections and revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations which have been added in subsequent print and online updates.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into by your leave, n. in September 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

A Supplement to the New English Dictionary (1933)

• Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

• View by your leave, n. in OED Second Edition

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Citation details

Factsheet for by your leave, n., browse entry.

Examples of 'by-your-leave' in a sentence

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without (so much as) a by your leave

Definition of without (so much as) a by your leave

Dictionary entries near without (so much as) a by your leave.

without someone's knowledge

without success

Cite this Entry

“Without (so much as) a by your leave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/without%20%28so%20much%20as%29%20a%20by%20your%20leave. Accessed 12 Apr. 2024.

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By Your Leave

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• Updated: Apr. 12, 2024, 4:16 p.m. |
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New York Yankees' Anthony Volpe is off to a hot start. AP

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The Yankees ’ strong start to the season is headlined by their second-year shortstop dominating at the plate.

And ESPN’s Paul Hembekides predicts that Anthony Volpe , who turns 23 later this month, is on track to have a better season than Derek Jeter did at the same age.

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