sitting duck
sitting duck
Something that is unprotected and vulnerable to an easy attack. When my car broke down in a bad neighborhood, I felt like a sitting duck, just waiting to get robbed. We can't go into that area unarmed, we'd be sitting ducks!
See also: duck, sitting
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
*sitting duck
Fig. someone or something vulnerable to attack, physical or verbal. (Alludes to a duck floating on the water, not suspecting that it is the object of a hunter or predator. *Typically: be ~; like ~; looking like~.) You look like a sitting duck out there. Get in here where the enemy cannot fire at you. The senator was a sitting duck because of his unpopular position on school reform.
See also: duck, sitting
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
sitting duck
An easy target, as in If you park in front of a fire hydrant, you're a sitting duck for a ticket. This term alludes to the ease with which a hunter can shoot a duck that remains in one spot, in contrast to one in flight. [First half of 1900s]
See also: duck, sitting
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
a sitting duck
If someone is a sitting duck, they are in a situation where it is very easy to attack them or criticize them. A pilot performing this manoeuvre would be a sitting duck for a second enemy aircraft. Note: You can also use sitting-duck before a noun. When the planes reach the sitting-duck warships, the harbour is rocked by a series of huge explosions. Note: A duck is an easy target for hunters when it is sitting on the water or on the ground.
See also: duck, sitting
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
sitting duck
a person or thing with no protection against an attack or other source of danger.See also: duck, sitting
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
a ˌsitting ˈduck/ˈtarget
a person or thing that is very easy to attack or criticize: It’s always easy to criticize teachers; they’re just sitting ducks.See also: duck, sitting, target
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
sitting duck
n. someone who waits unsuspectingly for doom or destiny; an easy target for something bad. Get out of the way! You’re a sitting duck.
See also: duck, sitting
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
sitting duck, a
An easy target. This expression clearly alludes to the ease with which a hunter can shoot a duck that is sitting still, in contrast to one in flight. It was transferred to other enterprises in the first half of the twentieth century.
See also: sitting
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- a sitting duck
- a sitting duck/target
- sitting duck, a
- sitting
- duck down
- (as) easy as duck soup
- be duck soup
- ay
- ay up me duck
- duck soup, like