verb
Meaning 1
To serve obsequiously.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Phrase guide
fetch and carry
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˌfɛt͡ʃ n̩ ˈkæɹi/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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General-American: /ˌfɛt͡ʃ n̩ ˈkæɹi/ without the Mary–marry–merry merger
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/ˌfɛt͡ʃ n̩ ˈkɛɹi/ General American, Mary–marry–merry merger
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rhymes with -æɹi
verb
Meaning 2
To carry gossip, news, etc., from one person to another; to bear tales, to gossip.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated, idiomatic, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: blab, cag, chelp, clepe, dish, dish the dirt, fetch and carry, gossip, jaunder, labrish, shoot the shit, talk, talk out of turn, tattle, tell tales out of school, tittle-tattle
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To carry or convey (gossip, news, etc.) from one person to another; to bear (tales).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated, idiomatic, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
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.”
Across languages
Translations
4 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Polish: wysługiwać się — to serve obsequiously
- Polish: wysłużyć się — to serve obsequiously
- Polish: być na usługach — to serve obsequiously
- Polish: plotkować — to carry gossip, news, etc. from one person to another