on deck —(coll.)
1. available and ready for action:
- Behind and off stage, a large stage crew are on deck to change scenes and regulate the lighting and sound.
2. alive:
- Don’t tell me old Bill’s still on deck. I thought he died years ago.
on the deck—(RAF) on the ground; on the landing-ground:
- I didn’t see the bombs drop, but Mac yelled over the intercom—“There’s one on the deck.”
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase on the decks—(U.S. tramps, dated) on top of the train:
- I am on top of the train—on the “decks,” as the tramps call it.