no sooner than

Meanings

conjunction

At the moment when; instantaneously after; immediately after.
Near-synonyms: immediately, instantly, hardly
4 more examples
No sooner had he arrived than the others grew talkative.
She'd no sooner passed her driving test than/when her family started asking for lifts.
No sooner did the act become law than it operated to relieve the railways from competition
1892 June 29, Appleton Morgan, “Wanted: A Railway Court of Last Resort”, in Popular Science Monthly
He had prepared such a fine pedestal for her, draped her in so many beautiful illusions. But if she was an elf, there was no keeping an elf on a pedestal. No sooner had he arranged her there nicely, than off she flopped in her elfish way, scattering the illusions he had attached to her, as it were, a Salome shedding her seven veils. So he fluttered between his beliefs and doubtings.
[1921?], John Cournos, “Circe”, in The Wall, London: Methuen & Co. Ltd.; New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC, chapter VIII, section I, page 207
Synonyms: as soon as, once, immediately, instantly, hardly
idiomaticUsed to indicate that the second action mentioned is as likely as, or is preferred to, the first action mentioned.
I'd no sooner shop at their store than jump in a lake.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see no, sooner, than.
He will arrive no sooner than I will.
Antonyms: no later than

preposition

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see no, sooner, than.
Near-synonym: after
1 more example
He will arrive no sooner than ten o'clock.
Synonyms: after · Antonyms: no later than, before