stand on ceremony
Insist on protocol
To stand on ceremony is to insist on formal behavior or rigid adherence to social conventions: Please don't stand on ceremony—help yourself to whatever's in the fridge.
The phrase appears almost exclusively in the negative, urging someone to relax and skip the formalities.
Prescribed conduct rules
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
- decorumFitting social conduct
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
- politenessCourteous, respectful conduct
courtesy · manners · stiffness · rigidity · conventionality · stuffiness · punctiliousness · correctness
Regard with honor
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
- reverenceProfound admiring respect
- bowingBending forward in deference
- curtsyingFormal feminine bow
titles · forms of address · rank · hierarchy · seniority · precedence · acknowledgment · recognition
Act of receiving guests
- banquetFormal celebratory meal
- galaFestive formal occasion
- black-tieFormal evening dress code
- dinnerPrimary evening meal
function · affair · soiree · ball · state dinner · introduction · presentation · meeting
protocol
Prescribed conduct rules
politeness · courtesy · manners · stiffness · rigidity · conventionality · stuffiness · punctiliousness · correctness · primness
respect
Regard with honor
curtsying · titles · forms of address · rank · hierarchy · seniority · precedence · acknowledgment · recognition · kowtowing
reception
Act of receiving guests
dinner · function · affair · soiree · ball · state dinner · introduction · presentation · meeting · greeting
- mannersetiquette, manners, polite, rude, politeness
stand on ceremonylet one's hair down
Abandon formal reserve
relax · loosen up · make oneself at home · take it easy · chill out
stand on ceremonyput at ease
Relieve worry or tension
keep it real · tell it like it is · roll up one's sleeves · get down to brass tacks · cut to the chase
stand, stands, standing, ceremony, ceremonies, ceremonial, ceremonially, ceremonious, ceremoniously