【英语习语】

at one's beck and call



【习语注释】

该习语中的beck其实是beckon的变体，表示“示意”，而call则用的是其本义，表示“呼叫”。整个习语表示“ to be entirely subservient to someone; to be responsive to someone's slightest request”，即“完全屈从于某人；对某人哪怕是一点点的要求都会作出回应”，相当于汉语里的“随叫随到；唯命是从；任其使唤；任其摆布；俯首帖耳；随时待命”。



【习语运用】

don't expect to have me at your beck and call.

休想随意摆布我。

i knew he was trying to wheedle me into being at his beck and call.

我知道这是他拉拢我，好让我俯首贴耳地为他效劳。

he regularly slips out of the white house to buy a burger, despite having a cordon bleu chef at his beck and call.

尽管拥有顶级厨师随时待命，但他经常会溜出白宫去买汉堡。



【闲话习语】

该习语较早于1611年出现在 aemilia lanyer对的作品《 salve deus rex judaeorum 》中 ：


"the muses doe attend upon your throne,

with all the artists at your becke and call;"


之后也出现了该习语的变体用法“beckon call”，虽然没有作为习语广泛使用，但直到最近仍然有人在用，如 phil differ and jonathan watson在伦敦的《每日镜报》（ daily mirror ）中就有过这样的使用：


“he [football manager dick advocaat] told me what he was particularly looking forward to when he comes to scotland and that's having the entire scottish press at his beckon call and i promised he won't be disappointed.”


那么，你还知道英语里“随叫随到”的其它说法吗？欢迎留言探讨。

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