"Walk (somebody) to the door" and "walk (someone) out".

[Aamir Tariq]

What is the difference between the following sentences?

"Show somebody to the door"
"Walk somebody out"

Let's just start with "Show somebody to the door",

If somebody comes to see me at/to my home. And when he/she is about to leave my place, would it be a polite way to say, "I'll show you to the door".

Or can I ask somebody else to show him/her to the door as well, like in the following example?

Guest: "It was nice talking to you, I'd better be leaving now".
I: "Wait, Rachel will show you to the door."

Is this dialogue fine? And what does it actually mean? Does it mean

Rachel will take him/her to the door because the guest doesn't know where exactly the exit point (the way out) is. Or Rachel will accompany the guest as a way of courtesy.

Now let's just talk about "Walk somebody out".

If I tell someone, "I'll walk you out".

Does it mean (i) I'll be forcing you to go out or (ii) the person doesn't know the route of the exit?

I would appreciate if anyone of you explain it more clearly.

Regards,

Aamir the Global Citizen

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

What is the difference between the following sentences?

"Show somebody to the door."
"Walk somebody out."

They mean pretty much the same thing.

Let's just start with "Show somebody to the door",

If somebody comes to see me at my home, when he or she is about to leave my place, would it be polite say, "I'll show you to the door"?

Yes.

Or can I ask somebody else to show him or her to the door as well, as in the following example?

Guest: "It was nice talking to you. I'd better be leaving now".
I: "Wait, Rachel will show you to the door."

Is this dialogue fine?

Yes.

And what does it actually mean? Does it mean:

Rachel will take him or her to the door because the guest doesn't know where exactly the exit point (the way out) is. Or Rachel will accompany the guest as a way of courtesy.

It's a courtesy. If the guest might get lost, we'd say something like "Rachel will show you the way out."

Now let's just talk about "Walk somebody out".

If I tell someone, "I'll walk you out".

Does it mean (i) I'll be forcing you to go out

No.

or (ii) the person doesn't know the route of the exit?

No. It's a courtesy. Walking with someone to the door is a polite way of saying goodbye.

I would appreciate if anyone of you explain it more clearly.

Regards,

Aamir the Global Citizen

Good questions, Aamir. I hope that helped.

 

[GoesStation]

Note that the meaning changes significantly if you omit the preposition. Showing someone the door means escorting them out peremptorily.

 

[Aamir Tariq]

Good questions, Aamir. I hope that helped.

That is really descriptive and well explained, the kind of answer I was looking for. Much much appreciated.

 

[Aamir Tariq]

Note that the meaning changes significantly if you omit the preposition. Showing someone the door means escorting them out peremptorily.

Yeah, I've also heard this one without preposition "to", But doesn't escorting also a way of paying respect and courtesy to someone?

To me "Showing someone the door" sounds you don't want the presence of that particular person, you don't want him or her around and want somebody to take him out.

 

[GoesStation]

Yeah, I've also heard this one without preposition "to", But [STRIKE]doesn't[/STRIKE] isn't escorting also a way of paying respect and courtesy to someone?

To me "Showing someone the door" sounds you don't want the presence of that particular person, you don't want him or her around and want somebody to take him out.

That's right.

Escorting isn't necessarily respectful. For example, when someone is dismissed from a job, they may be escorted out of the building by security.

 

[emsr2d2]

For me (BrE):

I'll show you to the door = I will walk with you to the door
I'm going to show him the door = I'm going to throw him out, possibly permanently

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Ems -

In American English, we use the verb eighty-six, as in "I got eighty-sixed again last night."

Do you?

 

[emsr2d2]

No. Is that something to do with police radio codes? I know those codes are used quite frequently in everyday AmE speech. The codes the police use over the radio here aren't common knowledge so we don't use them in everyday speech.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Click on the link. It'll tell you more than you want to know.