fetch and carry


Do errands and other menial tasks, as in She was hired as administrative assistant, but all she does is fetch and carry for the department's supervisor. This expression originally alluded to dogs that were taught to carry various objects for their masters. It has been applied to humans since the late 1700s.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use fetch and carry in a sentence

  • I'd be nothing but a corporation lawyer, a well-paid fetch-and-carry for the rich thieves that huddle together there.

  • The fetch-and-carry butterflies know exactly where to go to for the tint the world-flower-painters want.

    The Cuckoo Clock | Mrs. Molesworth
  • Who are the fetch-and-carry butterflies, and who are the world-flower-painters?

    The Cuckoo Clock | Mrs. Molesworth