diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index 1eba83acfb..cb14bb52b2 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -334,6 +334,17 @@ describe('my suite', () => {
 
 _If you do not need to use_ Mocha's context, lambdas should work. Be aware that using lambdas will be more painful to refactor if the need eventually arises!
 
+Alternatively, you can override certain context variables, such as test timeouts, by chain-calling methods of the created tests and/or hooks:
+
+```js
+describe('my suite', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {}).timeout(1000);
+  it('my test', () => {
+    assert.ok(true);
+  }).timeout(1000);
+}).timeout(1000);
+```
+
 ## Hooks
 
 With its default "BDD"-style interface, Mocha provides the hooks `before()`, `after()`, `beforeEach()`, and `afterEach()`. These should be used to set up preconditions and clean up after your tests.
diff --git a/lib/interfaces/common.js b/lib/interfaces/common.js
index ba8b5f85ed..d6656b8cc6 100644
--- a/lib/interfaces/common.js
+++ b/lib/interfaces/common.js
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ module.exports = function (suites, context, mocha) {
      * @param {Function} fn
      */
     before: function (name, fn) {
-      suites[0].beforeAll(name, fn);
+      return suites[0].beforeAll(name, fn);
     },
 
     /**
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ module.exports = function (suites, context, mocha) {
      * @param {Function} fn
      */
     after: function (name, fn) {
-      suites[0].afterAll(name, fn);
+      return suites[0].afterAll(name, fn);
     },
 
     /**
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ module.exports = function (suites, context, mocha) {
      * @param {Function} fn
      */
     beforeEach: function (name, fn) {
-      suites[0].beforeEach(name, fn);
+      return suites[0].beforeEach(name, fn);
     },
 
     /**
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ module.exports = function (suites, context, mocha) {
      * @param {Function} fn
      */
     afterEach: function (name, fn) {
-      suites[0].afterEach(name, fn);
+      return suites[0].afterEach(name, fn);
     },
 
     suite: {
diff --git a/lib/suite.js b/lib/suite.js
index 64d7183fdf..bce00731ec 100644
--- a/lib/suite.js
+++ b/lib/suite.js
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ Suite.prototype.beforeAll = function (title, fn) {
   var hook = this._createHook(title, fn);
   this._beforeAll.push(hook);
   this.emit(constants.EVENT_SUITE_ADD_HOOK_BEFORE_ALL, hook);
-  return this;
+  return hook;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ Suite.prototype.afterAll = function (title, fn) {
   var hook = this._createHook(title, fn);
   this._afterAll.push(hook);
   this.emit(constants.EVENT_SUITE_ADD_HOOK_AFTER_ALL, hook);
-  return this;
+  return hook;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ Suite.prototype.beforeEach = function (title, fn) {
   var hook = this._createHook(title, fn);
   this._beforeEach.push(hook);
   this.emit(constants.EVENT_SUITE_ADD_HOOK_BEFORE_EACH, hook);
-  return this;
+  return hook;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ Suite.prototype.afterEach = function (title, fn) {
   var hook = this._createHook(title, fn);
   this._afterEach.push(hook);
   this.emit(constants.EVENT_SUITE_ADD_HOOK_AFTER_EACH, hook);
-  return this;
+  return hook;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/test/unit/timeout.spec.js b/test/unit/timeout.spec.js
index ed65156341..bb758a5e50 100644
--- a/test/unit/timeout.spec.js
+++ b/test/unit/timeout.spec.js
@@ -70,5 +70,31 @@ describe('timeouts', function () {
         });
       });
     });
+
+    describe('chaining calls', function () {
+      before(function (done) {
+        setTimeout(function () {
+          done();
+        }, 50);
+      }).timeout(1500);
+
+      it('should allow overriding via chaining', function (done) {
+        setTimeout(function () {
+          done();
+        }, 50);
+      }).timeout(1500);
+
+      describe('suite-level', function () {
+        it('should work with timeout(0)', function (done) {
+          setTimeout(done, 1);
+        });
+
+        describe('nested suite', function () {
+          it('should work with timeout(0)', function (done) {
+            setTimeout(done, 1);
+          });
+        });
+      }).timeout(1000);
+    });
   });
 });