Your Reputation Precedes You

Your reputation precedes you is a popular colloquialism in English, used to highlight the fact that one has already heard of the person whom they have just met.

It is predominantly used in a formal setting, although it can also be used in everyday situations, and it may convey a positive or a negative message, depending on the things one is known for.

One of the earliest cases of the phrase, appearing in print can be linked to the 1830 book Foscarini: Or, The Patrician of Venice.

During the 19^th century, the phrase “Your reputation precedes you” was not yet as popular as in the subsequent century, although the occasional documentations in print suggest that it was known to speakers of English by then.

“Your reputation precedes you” grew into a significant expression during the second half of the 20^th century, appearing in countless contexts, like novels, television series or movies.

The colloquialism is experiencing its height of popularity, with the occasional image macro and reaction GIF memes surfacing online since the 2010’s.

• Forbes.com – If Your Reputation Truly Precedes You, What Does It Say?
• Grammarhow.com – “Your reputation precedes you”: Meaning & origin + 3 examples