beck and call
(Redirected from at someone's beck and call)
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- beckon call (eggcorn misspelling)
Noun edit
- Summons and control, in a position of servitude or as an attendant.
- At his beck and call, he had a small fleet of waiters and servants.
- 1942 May-June, “Notes and News: L.N.E.R. Traffic Regulating Office”, in Railway Magazine, page 187:
- The Traffic Regulating Officer thus has at his beck and call the assistance which he requires in deciding the extent to which restrictions on the acceptance and despatch of traffic are necessary.
Usage notes edit
- Almost always found as a prepositional phrasing "at one's beck and call"
Translations edit
summons and control, in a position as an attendant or servant
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See also edit
References edit
- “at someone’s beck and call”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.