Johnny-on-the-spot

[ jon-ee-on-thuh-spot, -awn- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Informal.

a person who is on hand to perform a service, seize an opportunity, deal with an emergency, etc.

First recorded in 1860–65

A person who is available when needed, as in He always is there at the right time, a real Johnny-on-the-spot . [Late 1800s]

"Allus glad to be Johnny-on-the-spot," smiled the older man.

The only way to get history straight, declared the philosophical Burd, is to be Johnny-on-the-spot and see things happen.

He didn't have a great deal on, I remember, but he was certainly Johnny-on-the-spot that morning!

They called me Rube, and Johnny-on-the-spot-of-wealth, and Shekels, and a heap of other things.

Henri missed these remarks, for he was Johnny-on-the-spot to retrieve the game.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse