basic decency

basic decency

Common, everyday courtesy, respect, and politeness that is expected and assumed by social convention. Please have the basic decency to at least consult me before you make some extravagant purchase. It is an assumed basic decency that you should help someone if they are in distress.
See also: basic, decency
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • decency
  • common decency
  • not a spark of decency
  • make an appearance
  • put in an appearance
  • do (one) the courtesy of (doing something)
  • do somebody the courtesy of doing something
  • have no sense of shame
  • sense of shame
  • have the courtesy to do something
References in periodicals archive
"Look at the likeability of Tom Hanks," she explains."What if you take away his basic decency and move things around a little?
Standards like respect for Parliament, basic decency and respect for the truth and others.
However, PDP wasn't this brazen-faced in its assault on morality and basic decency.
Ignoring international law and basic decency, Beijing abets their piracy.
'There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all.
Shortly before voting last June to demolish this tomb, County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the Men's Central Jail "a decrepit, outdated facility inconsistent with human values and basic decency. It puts both our inmates and our sheriff's deputies at risk."
"We all, as a group, stand for basic rights and protections and basic decency and quality of life for all Illinoisans," Guzzardi said, "to make sure that everyone has access to good education and good health care, and that our criminal justice system is truly fair, and that we treat everyone with decency and respect."
The rudeness and audacious caucasity of this act did not go unseen by Kenyans, even in spite of our grieving ndash numerous people I know, on principle, have unsubscribed to NYT there are petitions going around, till today, with 25,000 signatures from Kenyans demanding respect for our dead, and Kenyans on Twitter refusing to let the paltry weak-minded excuses from NYT and its subsequent reporters and supporters fly under the glaring light of logic, humanity and basic decency.
IF EVER there was an act to shame the total lack of man-management skills and basic decency portrayed by Mike Ashley over a long torturous reign at Newcastle United, it surely came this week.
Judy Amuga Ndibo discusses how pressure to have a vibrant social media presence is leading to women suffering depression and feelings of failure, as well as how African societies are losing long-held values of basic decency.
The minister doesn't even possess the basic decency of how to talk to women and that too on a public media channel.
Alleged wretched conditions of Shahbaz Sharif's cell Sometimes the country's chief accountability agency seemingly exhibits a marked lack of tact, correctness or basic decency, as in the case of accused senior professors, including the former vice-chancellor of Punjab University, all retired and elderly persons, who were produced in an accountability court heavily bound in chains, a piteous and stony-hearted spectacle indeed.
Mr Siddiqui had demonstrated he did not have the temperament, a necessary respect for the law or even basic decency and humanity to be a superior court judge.
I am talking about basic decency towards all human beings.