present company excepted
phrase1
Idiomatic These negative remarks do not pertain to anyone who is currently listening to them (including the speaker).
- Everybody it appears, the present company excepted, has plotted against Mrs Snagsby’s peace.1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 54, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:
- "I say, Reggie, old thing—present company excepted—have there been any loonies in your family?"1920 March – 1921 February, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter 26, in Indiscretions of Archie, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published 1921, →OCLC:
2 more examples
- Am I glad we finally got rid of all those Klingons—er, present company excepted, of course.1995 October 2, Ira Steven Behr, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, “The Way of the Warrior”, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 4, episode 1, spoken by Quark:
- Well, even Stanford guys aren't perfect (present company excepted, of course).2009 December 2, Romesh Ratnesar, Bill Saporito, “How Will Tiger Woods' Apology Affect His Image?”, in Time:
- Related terms
- no offense