IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishall hands on deck
Meaning: Everyone is needed to help right now.
Example: “The restaurant is fully booked tonight, so it's all hands on deck.”
Origin: A ship's order calling every crew member ("hand") up on deck, used in the days of sail. The figurative sense for any urgent collective effort came later.
Equivalents in other languages
Japanese: 猫の手も借りたい (Neko no te mo karitai) Literally: I want to borrow even a cat's paw
French: Convoquer le ban et l'arrière-ban Literally: To summon the ban and the rear-ban- French: Un branle-bas de combat Literally: A hammock-down for combat
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- the life of the party A lively, fun person who makes a gathering enjoyable.
- kick against the pricks To resist authority or fate in a way that only hurts oneself.
- hell for leather As fast as possible.
- buy a pig in a poke To buy something without examining it first.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- What the eye sees not, the heart rues not. Ignorance of misfortune shields us from suffering its emotional weight.
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