sitting duck
an easy target or victim
TRANSLATION
sitting duck = die Zielscheibe, leichte Beute, ein gefundenes Fressen --- GOOGLE INDEX sitting duck: approximately 2,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
With a limited mandate, the African Union peacekeepers have almost been SITTING DUCKS because they could respond only after being attacked by al-Shabab and other insurgents.
(BBC News)
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Weak Gun Laws Make Us SITTING DUCKS for Lunatics
(BusinessWeek magazine)
(BBC News)
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Weak Gun Laws Make Us SITTING DUCKS for Lunatics
(BusinessWeek magazine)
Did you
know?
sitting duck
idiom
- an easy target or victim
(American Heritage Dictionary)
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This expression stems from the idea that when hunting, a duck sitting on the water or ground is an easy target compared to one that is flying. Most hunters avoid shooting sitting ducks as it is considered "unsportsmanlike". Most duck hunters enjoy the challenge of "flushing them out" (making the ducks fly out of their habitat) so that they can be shot while they are flying.
Hunters go to great lengths to attract ducks by "calling" them (making duck-like noises with a device that looks and sounds like a kazoo) or by setting up decoys (plastic or wood replicas of ducks).
Duck hunters also have to camouflage themselves with special clothing and/or by building a "blind", a covering device designed to keep duck hunters from being detected. This sounds like a lot of work just to get a roasted duck on your plate, when you could simply go to the local butcher. But as the saying goes, "The journey is the reward."
Ducks, like many other animals, are popular objects when it comes to idioms and catch phrases. Here are a few additional examples:
- get your ducks in a row = to get your affairs in order or organised (I have to get my ducks in a row before going on holidays)
- like water off a duck's back = easily, without effort, having no effect (to him the criticism was like water off a duck's back)
- a dead duck = something or someone that is certain to fail (I have to pass this exam, otherwise I'm a dead duck)
- lame duck = someone who is in the last period of a political office or a job (Bob won't be able to help you, he's a lame duck)
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SYNONYMS
easy target, dead meat, easy pickings, pushover
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"If you don't want to be a sitting duck for pickpockets, keep your purse or wallet out of sight in the city."
idiom
- an easy target or victim
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
This expression stems from the idea that when hunting, a duck sitting on the water or ground is an easy target compared to one that is flying. Most hunters avoid shooting sitting ducks as it is considered "unsportsmanlike". Most duck hunters enjoy the challenge of "flushing them out" (making the ducks fly out of their habitat) so that they can be shot while they are flying.
Hunters go to great lengths to attract ducks by "calling" them (making duck-like noises with a device that looks and sounds like a kazoo) or by setting up decoys (plastic or wood replicas of ducks).
Duck hunters also have to camouflage themselves with special clothing and/or by building a "blind", a covering device designed to keep duck hunters from being detected. This sounds like a lot of work just to get a roasted duck on your plate, when you could simply go to the local butcher. But as the saying goes, "The journey is the reward."
Ducks, like many other animals, are popular objects when it comes to idioms and catch phrases. Here are a few additional examples:
- get your ducks in a row = to get your affairs in order or organised (I have to get my ducks in a row before going on holidays)
- like water off a duck's back = easily, without effort, having no effect (to him the criticism was like water off a duck's back)
- a dead duck = something or someone that is certain to fail (I have to pass this exam, otherwise I'm a dead duck)
- lame duck = someone who is in the last period of a political office or a job (Bob won't be able to help you, he's a lame duck)
---
SYNONYMS
easy target, dead meat, easy pickings, pushover
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"If you don't want to be a sitting duck for pickpockets, keep your purse or wallet out of sight in the city."
