One idea · 3 languages

“All hands on deck”in other languages

Everyone is needed to help, right now.

  • English
  • French
  • Japanese
Behind the words

Same idea, different pictures

Two languages call up a crew or an army. English is a ship's order: every sailor, every “hand”, up on deck. French branle-bas de combat is also naval: the branles were the sailors' hammocks, taken down all at once to clear the deck for battle. French can also convoquer le ban et l'arrière-ban, summoning every vassal and every vassal's vassal, as a medieval king did for war.

Japanese shows how busy things are instead: neko no te mo karitai, I'd even borrow the cat's paws.

Keep exploring

More sayings in other languages

Browse all idioms