Isn’t it absurd to be invited on an outing but be asked to pay for your drinks? It is absurd but it isn’t entirely strange. It is like getting persuaded to spend your money on yourself. It is called Going Dutch.
If you want to sound nice while telling someone to pay for his/her drink, you can simply say you are going Dutch. Not everyone understands the phrase so you may want to use something else.
Below is a list of ways to say Everyone pays for themselves.
11 Ways to Say Everyone Pays for Themselves
- Take me out but you pay
- We are going Dutch
- We are going fifty-fifty
- All man for himself
- Every man for himself but drinks for us all
- Caesar pays for Caesar and Caesar alone.
- God for us all.
- No one is handling the bills
- We are going halves.
- Each person to his bills
- I suggest everyone should pay for their drinks
Take me out but you pay
It is right to think about the best way to pass the message. Rather, it is best to not have to pass the message. However, if you must, saying it directly may be the only right way you can do it.
By saying this, you are passing the message directly so the person will understand quickly. There will be no excuse for misunderstanding. In addition to that, nobody regrets anything at the end of the day.
This is because this statement has to be made before the outing happens. When the outing happens, both parties already understand that no one will pay for the other person so no one has to convince anyone, and no one is disappointed.
This is a good option that should be respected because passing the message during the outing will always sound absurd.
The statement only refers to two people. When you want to go out with a person without having to pay for his or her meal, you can make this statement and you too can have a nice time without having to pay for the other person’s meal or drinks.
If you are planning to refer to a group of people, this may not be the best option. Check the other options on this list in that case.
We are going Dutch
As mentioned earlier, it is quite absurd to ask a person on an outing but tell the person to pay for his or her meal.
It would feel like telling a person to come with you to spend his/her money. However, there is a phrase for it so maybe it is not so absurd after all.
The nicest way you can express yourself and pass the message is to use the original phrase that refers to the act. Going Dutch means everyone that participates in a paid activity has to pay for himself or herself.
The good thing about using this phrase is that if the person knows what the phrase means, it would be much easier for him or her to understand. In that case, there is a high chance that you both have done it once or more times in the past.
However, the phrase may not be very cool if you have to explain what the phrase means. It is better to tell the other parties before the outing happens.
That way, everyone is already prepared with his or her money before going out with you and no one expects the host to handle the payment.
Also, this works for a group of two or more people, unlike the first option on the list.
We are going fifty-fifty
This is similar to Going Dutch but may be found funnier. It will be very easy to understand this phrase if the person already knows what it means to Go Dutch.
In some cases, you will have to explain to the other person what it means to Go Fifty-fifty or Go Dutch. Going Fifty-fifty sounds a bit funny so you get the chance to reduce the absurdity in the message you are passing.
Just like the points mentioned earlier, it is only right to make this statement before the outing happens so you don’t make it hard for the other person to accept it.
In a case where the other person thinks you will settle the bills, he or she may not have prepared a way to make a payment for himself or herself.
This statement or any other one with this same message will sound too absurd and no amount of funniness will take out the absurdity.
However, if the statement is made earlier, you get to know if the person accepts to pay for himself or herself before you even go out.
This only works for two people. If you use this for a group of people, it could be misunderstood to mean that two people will be handling the bills of everyone else in the room.
All man for himself
This is another funny phrase that can reduce the absurdity in the message you are passing. All Man For Himself means every person participating in an activity has to watch his or her own back.
In that case, nobody is caring for another person. If there is anything that has to be given asides from money, it has to be handled individually and not by any one person.
However, the meaning could fit into this context to only refer to monetary payment.
This statement sounds a bit funny and it is often used in very serious situations. However, using it here will not sound funny to any person that has no way to pay for himself or herself.
This is why it is important to say this before the outing happens. Even if it doesn’t sound funny at that moment, you get to know if the person is willing to buy the idea and you avoid embarrassing one another.
When the outing happens, no one expects the host to pay and everyone is already prepared to handle his or her bills.
This can be used for a group of people and not necessarily just two people. Keep reading and consider other options on the list if you are not satisfied with this.
Every man for himself but drinks for us all.
This is similar to the option stated above but it is slightly longer and much funnier. If any funny phrase or clause will reduce the absurdity in the message, it has to be this one.
This expression was derived from another one; Every man for himself but God for us all. It implies that each person has to take care of himself or herself first and it’s only God who successfully checks up on everybody.
This will be found funny but still may not be appreciated. It is not about the way the message is passed but the practicality of the message being passed.
If a person forgets to tell the other person about having to pay individually, both of them may end up in an awkward situation where one person is unable to handle his or her bills and will not find any joke funny at that point.
The funniness in the phrase makes it easier to pass the message. However, saying it before the outing remains as important as ever.
Once that is done, all parties involved in the outing will be prepared to make payments individually and also set a limit to their spending.
You can use this statement in a group of more than two people. It sounds better in that case than in the case of just two people.
Caesar pays for Caesar and Caesar alone
Another interesting way to pass a message that is not very interesting, like this one, is to use an expression that is hard to understand.
The metaphor in the statement will be found funny, in addition, but you may have to explain what it means.
While it would sound weird that you are asking everyone to pay for their meals or drinks, some or all will still laugh at the metaphor you used.
This works perfectly fine, as long as everyone in the group is informed before the outing happens. People can get offended that they have to pay for their meals or drinks after you officially invited them out.
However, this statement will be laughed at and that will reduce the absurdity of the idea. In a case where you tell the group in the middle of the outing when spending has already begun, it will not be taken lightly.
The joke may be thrown out completely, especially if some or all of them do not have any means of paying for the activity they had just been involved in.
They would fail to recognize the joke in the statement so it’s important to make this statement before the outing happens.
This statement works in all cases. When you are going out with just one person or more people, the message you are passing with this statement is that you will not be handling the bills of anyone.
God for us all
This is funny because it has removed the major part of the saying which is; Every man for himself. However, if the person already knows this saying, the message will be successfully passed and both or all parties will most likely laugh about the expression used.
Like the points stated above and every other one on this list, it may fail to work if the message is only coming during the outing and one or more people do not have means of settling their bills. In that case, the joke will not be accepted and you will end up embarrassing one another.
This statement works best in the case of a group outing.
No one is handling the bills
Sometimes, it is best to just pass the message directly so it becomes impossible for anyone to misunderstand your point.
You will be getting the same reaction you would get from the funny statements above after the people have laughed about it. Once the message sinks in, you will get honest reactions and you know who is still interested and who is not.
Saying this in the middle of an outing is the worst idea ever. Making a joke about it is an even worse idea because it could even be misunderstood. It is best to let everyone know before the outing.
That way, everyone can come prepared to pay for their meals and drinks.
We are going halves
This is similar to going Dutch. It is another way of saying: Let’s go Fifty-fifty. It is a bit funny but you may have to explain what you mean so you don’t put yourselves in an awkward situation during the outing.
Once the statement is made before the outing, the other person gets to prepare his or her money, method of payment, and budget. Saying this in the middle of the outing can lead to an embarrassing situation where one person is unable to pay.
This can be used when you are going out with just one person, rather than a group of people.
Each person to his bills
This is another direct way to pass the message across. The message will be understood quickly and people get to prepare to pay for themselves.
This is used when you are going out with a group. That makes it much easier to pass the message unless none of them is willing to accept the idea. However, saying it before the outing prevents you from getting forced to handle the bills.
It also prevents any of them from getting embarrassed.
I suggest everyone should pay for their drinks
This is a nice way to put it but it is much nicer if you are not the host. If you think the host of the outing does not have enough to handle the payment, you can suggest that everyone should pay for their drinks or meal.
The statement fits into a situation where you are saying it in the middle of an outing. However, it must come as a suggestion so no one appears forced to pay for his or her meal.
Alternative sources of payment have to be prepared to avoid awkward situations where no one is willing to pay.