at the ready

Idioms  

1. Available for immediate use, as in Umbrellas at the ready, we were prepared to brave the storm. This idiom was originally a military term in which the ready denoted the position of a firearm prepared to be raised and aimed or fired. [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Check the weather forecasts, download all the maps on your Garmin, notify people of your plans, pack enough food and water and have emergency supplies at the ready.

From Los Angeles Times

Canned answers to prying questions about career mistakes and bumps in our personal lives must be at the ready the moment the festivities begin.

From Salon

Hook it to your backpack or your belt loop and adventure worry-free with a beverage at the perfect temperature at the ready.

From Salon

Mrs. Clarke, I am sorry to interrupt your chess game, but could you summon Jasper and have him at the ready to run a letter to the post, posthaste?”

From Literature

Your apartment smells like dirty socks, Michael thought, and perhaps if he were bigger, stronger, older, he would have said all this, fists clenched, fight at the ready.

From Literature

Related Words

• accessible
• apt
• handy
• qualified
• ripe