fetch and carry
To serve obsequiously.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He refuses to fetch and carry for his boss anymore.”
“I am your teammate, so please do not expect me to fetch and carry.”
“She felt like a servant because her manager expected her to fetch and carry for him all day.”
“The new assistant spends most of her time having to fetch and carry for the lead actors instead of learning how the film set actually works.”
“Even though he is a qualified lawyer, the senior partners still treat him like a child and make him fetch and carry their heavy files.”
“The young intern grew tired of being expected to fetch and carry for the senior partners, so he began looking for a more professional role.”
From fetch + and + carry, originally a reference to a trained dog fetching and conveying an object back to its master: see, for example, William Shakespeare’s play The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act III, scene i (spelling modernized): “She hath more qualities than a water-spaniel, […] She can fetch and carry: why a horse can do no more; nay, a horse cannot fetch, but only carry, therefore is she better than a jade.”
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can't carry a tune in a bucket
Sings very badly.
- 02
carried away
Made excessively emotional or excited, so that one goes too far.
- 03
carry a torch
To love or to be romantically infatuated with, especially when such feelings are not reciprocated.
- 04
carry away
To be so excited that one is no longer in control of one's actions or behavior.
- 05
carry coals to Newcastle
To do something that is unneeded or redundant.
- 06
carry forward
To transfer to a new page, column, ledger, or similar entity.
- 07
carry off
To act convincingly; to succeed at giving the impression of (e.g.) knowledge, confidence, or familiarity.
- 08
carry on
To continue or proceed as before.
Last updated August 10, 2026