dl at ease
Preserved but no longer current.
Uneasy, not comfortable, anxious. Stand at ease! An infantry drill command for a position less rigid than attention^ with the feet apart and hands joined behind the back. It is intermediate between attention and stand easy! in which complete freedom (short of moving away) is allowable.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “dl at ease” mean?
Uneasy, not comfortable, anxious. Stand at ease! An infantry drill command for a position less rigid than attention^ with the feet apart and hands joined behind the back. It is intermediate between attention and stand easy! in which complete freedom (short of moving away) is allowable.
Is “dl at ease” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.