Originally Posted by
biminiblue 
Present!
...I remember in my Class of March thread there was someone who decided to do a roll call and/or a list. Little bit like herding cats it was. Try to get a bunch of newly sober alcoholics to commit to daily checkins and see how that goes. Anyway s/he would start with, "Present and correct," which I didn't understand - could be a European thing.
So, Present and Correct. Whatever that means...
Part of the British Army's King's Regulations - the Report of the Orderly Sergeant to the Officer of the Day, used to report that the roll-call was successfully completed...
The phrase was also in use in Canada/USA by the late 19th century. The Winnipeg Daily Free Press reported this item in January 1876:
"Inspection - Adjutant Rodman, U.S. Army, dropped in and inspected the FREE PRESS staff this morning, and found all present and correct."
It is now used outside the military on both sides of the Atlantic, although it isn't a frequently heard phrase.
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/28000.html
So, everybody's there with everything they need.
