Ducks And Drakes Definition

dŭks
noun
The game of throwing a small, flat stone so that it will skim or skip along the surface of water.
Webster's New World

Squandering of resources, especially money; used in expressions like "to make ducks and drakes of", "to play (at) ducks and drakes with".

Wiktionary

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Ducks And Drakes

  • make ducks and drakes of
  • make ducks and drakes of

Origin of Ducks And Drakes

  • 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.

    From Wiktionary

  • Sense “to squander, to throw away” shortly thereafter, attested 1614, from sense of “throwing money away, as if throwing stones away in this pastime”.

    From Wiktionary

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