# fetch and carry

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˌfɛt͡ʃ n̩ ˈkæɹi/

## Definitions
1. To serve obsequiously.
2. To carry gossip, news, etc., from one person to another; to bear tales, to gossip.
3. To carry or convey (gossip, news, etc.) from one person to another; to bear (tales).

## 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.”

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fetch-and-carry