gentleman's code
Chivalric behavioral standards
A gentleman's code is an unwritten set of principles governing honorable behavior among men—loyalty, discretion, keeping one's word, and treating others with respect.
The phrase implies standards that exist outside formal rules: He violated the gentleman's code by pursuing his friend's ex.
Sometimes invoked ironically or to justify questionable male solidarity: The gentleman's code says you don't snitch.
- politenessCourteous, respectful conduct
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
- word of honorPromise on one's integrity
- respectRegard with honor
- unwritten rulesUnstated behavioral expectations
kindness · decorum · good form · integrity · fairness · fair play · trustworthiness · handshake deal · selflessness · accountability · discretion · tact · gallantry · Renaissance humanism · propriety · noblesse oblige · loyalty · generosity
- honor codeshonor, duty, loyalty, chivalry, sworn oath
gentleman's codewritten law
Enacted and recorded legislation
legislation · criminal code · statute · statutory law · legal code
gentleman's codeanything goes
No restrictions apply
law of the jungle · ruthlessness · win at all costs · dirty tricks · bad faith
gentleman's codeMachiavellianism
Cunning, amoral statecraft
backstabbing · duplicity · treachery · double-dealing · deception
gentleman, gentlemen, gentle, gently, gentleness, genteel, gentry, code, codes