In this installment of Word Knots we’ll look at a phrase is that is often used, but is incorrect: it’s confused with another one that is correct. 

Our source for this installment is The Dictionary of Disagreeable English by Robert Hartwell Fiske (Chicago: Writer’s Digest Books). This is a great book to browse: I highly recommend it.

From Fiske:

beckon call

Solecistic for beck and call. 

As Fiske writes (excerpted):

 A beck is a gesture of beckoning; a wave or nod. To be at someone’s beck and call is to always be ready to fulfill a wish. 

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The etymology of this one is unclear; my suspicion is that it derives from spoken English and is the result of people hearing the phrase incorrectly. Although it’s less noticeable in spoken English, it does creep into written English. Unfortunately, I’ve seen “beckon call” in work published by people (and publishers) who should know better. The fact that legitimate publishers occasionally let this slip by should be an embarrassment to anyone who cares about language and how it’s  used.

Let’s look at it used correctly:

It was lucky that the harbor patrol was at our beck and call, since getting our boat to shore was tricky.

The elderly woman was very relieved that her neighbor was consistently at her beck and call.

Remember: word choice matters.

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