gentleman's agreements
Unwritten mutual promises
Gentleman's agreements are informal deals sealed by trust and honor rather than legal contracts.
The understanding is that parties will keep their word without written enforcement: The merger proceeded on a gentleman's agreement until lawyers drafted the paperwork.
Historically, such agreements often excluded outsiders—gentleman's agreements kept Jews out of country clubs and Black families out of neighborhoods.
The term now applies to any unwritten mutual understanding, though it retains connotations of closed-door dealing among the privileged.
- honor systemTrust-based compliance without supervision
- handshake dealUnwritten mutual commitment
- shake on itFormalize agreement physically
- unwritten ruleImplicit behavioral expectation
- trustworthinessQuality of being reliable
honor among thieves · tacit understanding · back room deal · mutual respect · moral obligation · good faith · fair play · old boys' network · under the table · integrity · cooperative behavior · community standards · social contract · social etiquette · quid pro quo · ethical conduct · social norms · formal contract
- honour systemshonor codes, academic integrity, self-reporting, scout's honor, handshake deals
gentleman's agreementsformal contracts
Enforceable written commitments
written contracts · legal agreements · signed agreements · binding agreements · notarized documents
gentleman, gentlemen, gentleman's, agreement, agreements, gentle, gently, gentleness, gentler