all hands on deck

Definition

An order, on board ship, for all seamen of all watches to muster on deck immediately; normally shortened to "All hands"

Example Sentences

• "As soon as the boche and his guard were aboard again, I called all hands on deck, including von Schoenvorts, and there I explained to them that the time had come for us to enter into some sort of an agreement among ourselves that would relieve us of the annoyance and embarrassment of being divided into two antagonistic parts--prisoners and captors."
• "It was all hands to the deck in the Swindon penalty box."
• "Summer, with its good weather and accompanying onslaught of tourists, was the time when they made most of their money for the year, and so it was all hands on deck."