ladies and gentlemen
Mixed audience greeting
Ladies and gentlemen is a formal address to a mixed audience, used to open speeches, announcements, and performances: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show.
The phrase signals that something is about to begin and requests attention.
It has declined somewhat as gender-neutral alternatives like folks or everyone have gained favor, but remains standard in ceremonial contexts.
- boys and girlsMale and female children
- ladyCourteous term for woman
- politeShowing good manners
- audienceGathered viewers collectively
- hostsThose who entertain guests
assembly · welcome · please be seated · introduction · courtesy · toast · round of applause · without further ado · decorum · emcee · ringmaster · announcement · inclusivity · protocol · speech · address · formal · salutation
- greetingshi, hello, hey, hola, aloha
- polite phrasesplease, thank you, yes sir, hello, no sir
- direct addressvocative, apostrophe, O, hail, hey
- beginning phrasesonce upon a time, in the beginning, first of all, to start with, to begin with
- Salutationsgreetings, hello, good morning, good afternoon, good evening
- speech partsintroduction, opening remarks, closing remarks, greeting, salutation
ladies and gentlemento whom it may concern
Formal greeting, unknown addressee
hey you · the masses · you lot
ladies and gentlemeneveryone
All people collectively
folks · distinguished guests · friends · honored guests · all
gentleman, ladies, gentlemen, ladylike, ladyship, gentlemanly, gentlemanliness, gentle, gently