dances on his card taken

English translation: he had a partner booked for each dance

11:47 Sep 17, 2012

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

English term or phrase: dances on his card taken

"Maybe fifty of 'em had come, and was seated, when in slid the king bee, the governor of the district. Mellinger met him at the door, and escorted him to the grand stand. When I saw that Latin man I knew that Mellinger, private secretary, had all the ---------------------dances on his card taken. -------------------------That was a big, squashy man, the colour of a rubber overshoe, and he had an eye like a head waiter's.

Thank you!

Michael Kislov KudoZ activity Questions: 834 (none open) (2 without valid answers) (33 closed without grading) Answers: 2655 Russian Federation
Local time: 20:11

Selected answer:he had a partner booked for each dance

Explanation:
As Colin suggests, I think it is meant figuratively here, as I believe that dance cards were used by women, not by men. So it would mean that Mellinger had all his problems in life sorted out, by his association with his powerful boss.

Selected response from:

Martin Riordan
Brazil
Local time: 14:11

Grading comment

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +1

he had a partner booked for each dance

Martin Riordan

Summary of reference entries provided

See link

Colin Rowe

Answers

30 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

he had a partner booked for each dance

Martin Riordan
Brazil
Local time: 14:11
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 275

Reference comments

14 mins peer agreement (net): +4

Reference: See link

Reference information:
Whether it is meant literally or figuratively should be clear from your context. What it is referring to, however, is this concept:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_card

Colin Rowe
Germany
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 12

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dances on his card taken

English translation: he had a partner booked for each dance

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dances on his card taken

English translation: he had a partner booked for each dance

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