between you and me
Preserved but no longer current.
In confidence be it spoken. Sometimes, Between you and me and the gatepost (or bed-post). These phrases, for the most part, indicate that some illnatured remark or slander is about to be made of a third person, but occasionally they refer to some offer or private affair. Between ourselves is another form of the same phrase.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “between you and me” mean?
In confidence be it spoken. Sometimes, Between you and me and the gatepost (or bed-post). These phrases, for the most part, indicate that some illnatured remark or slander is about to be made of a third person, but occasionally they refer to some offer or private affair. Between ourselves is another form of the same phrase.
Is “between you and me” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.