Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

ducks and drakes en · NOUN

Etymology

1585, due to association with waterfowl. The precise origin is unclear, and may be from ducks taking off from a pond, or making rings when splashing, or bobbing their heads. Early references are primarily to “making” ducks and drakes, suggesting that the circular rings produced by the skipping stone resemble those created by splashing waterfowl. Sense “to squander, to throw away” shortly thereafter, attested 1614, from sense of “throwing money away, as if throwing stones away in this pastime”.

Meanings

  1. (uncountable) A pastime of throwing flat stones across water so as to make them bounce off the surface.
    • They sat on a pebbly bank. Suddenly he caught sight of a nice flat stone, and, jumping up, began to make ducks and drakes on the water. 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 7”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
    • A kind of sport or play with an oister shell or stone throwne into the water, and making circles yer it sinke, etc. It is called a ducke and a drake, and a halfe-penie cake. 1585, The nomenclator, or remembrancer of Adrianus Junius, John Higgins
  2. (idiomatic, informal, uncountable) The squandering of resources, especially money; used in expressions such as "to make ducks and drakes of", "to play (at) ducks and drakes with".
    • Pendennis’s uncle, the Major, seldom does anything without me; and as he is likely to be extravagant we’ve tied up the property, so that he can’t make ducks and drakes with it. 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 59, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
    • This royal Caesar doth regard no cash; Has thrown away as much in ducks and drakes As would have bought some 50,000 capons. 1614, James Cooke, Tu Quoque:
    • He soon made ducks and drakes of what I gave him, sank lower and lower, married another woman, I believe, became an adventurer, a gambler, and a cheat. 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

Deriveds

drakestone · make ducks and drakes of one's money · play ducks and drakes with

Synonyms

squandering · wasting · stone skiffing · stone skimming · drakestoning · stone skipping

Translations (26)

ko 물수제비 (pastime) · nl ketsen (pastime) · gd leac an rìgh (pastime) · ru пуска́ние бли́нчиков (pastime) · cmn 打水漂 (pastime) · fi leipien heitto (pastime) · hu kacsázás (pastime) · nb fiskesprett (pastime) · bn ছিনিমিনি খেলা (squandering) · de Steinehüpfen (pastime) · gd struidearachd (pastime) · gd sniog-sneog (pastime) · gd spoth an t-sìl (pastime) · cmn 打水漂 (squandering) · de Ditschen (pastime) · de Steineflitschen (pastime) · mi paratiti (pastime) · mi ripi (pastime) · ru печь блины́ (pastime) · gd leacan teithe teinntein (pastime) · nl kiskassen (pastime) · ru бли́нчики (pastime) · gd spitheagan (pastime) · es cabrillas (pastime) · ja 水切り (pastime) · fi tuhlaus (squandering)