Wait on someone hand and foot

Origin of: Wait on someone hand and foot

Wait on someone hand and foot

Probably from time immemorial, the aristocracy of all cultures and civilisations have had servants who waited on them ‘hand and foot’. Hand and foot means completely or totally in the sense that people so served, would not have to lift a hand or a foot of their own in satisfying needs. The expression dates in English from the 1300s, sometimes expressed as ‘hand, foot and finger’ for more emphasis.