all hands on deck


all hands on deck

1. A call for all members of a ship's crew to come to the deck, usually in a time of crisis. (A "hand" is a member of a ship's crew.) We're under attack! All hands on deck!2. By extension, everyone available to help with a problem, or a call for those people to help. Your grandmother arrives tomorrow and the house is still a mess—I need all hands on deck to help me clean! All hands on deck! We've got to roll out this tarp before the rain starts. Now let's go!See also: all, deck, hand, on

all hands on deck

mainly BRITISHIf a situation requires all hands on deck, it needs everyone to work hard to achieve an aim or do a task. Come on then, boys, all hands on deck tonight, we need all the help we can get. Your job was so big that we needed all hands on deck. Note: Members of a ship's crew are sometimes called hands and `deck' refers to the floor of a ship. See also: all, deck, hand, on

all ˌhands on ˈdeck

(also all ˌhands to the ˈpump) (saying, humorous) everyone helps or must help, especially in an emergency: There are 10 staff off sick this week, so it’s all hands on deck. ♢ When the kitchen staff became ill, it was all hands to the pump and even the manager did some cooking.On a ship, a hand is a sailor.See also: all, deck, hand, on