See ducks and drakes in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for ducks and drakes meaning in English (6.5kB)
{
"etymology_text": "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.\nSense “to squander, to throw away” shortly thereafter, attested 1614, from sense of “throwing money away, as if throwing stones away in this pastime”.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "-",
"head": "ducks and drakes"
},
"expansion": "ducks and drakes (uncountable)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "54 46",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English coordinated pairs",
"parents": [
"Coordinated pairs",
"Terms by etymology"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "52 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "48 52",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "47 53",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"parents": [
"Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1585, The nomenclator, or remembrancer of Adrianus Junius, John Higgins",
"text": "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."
}
],
"glosses": [
"A pastime of throwing flat stones across water so as to make them bounce off the surface."
],
"id": "en-ducks_and_drakes-en-noun--WkpH3H3",
"links": [
[
"pastime",
"pastime"
],
[
"flat",
"flat"
],
[
"bounce",
"bounce"
],
[
"surface",
"surface"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "stone skipping"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "stone skimming"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "stone skiffing"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "drakestoning"
}
],
"tags": [
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "dǎ shuǐpiāo",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "打水漂"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "ketsen"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "kiskassen"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "leipien heitto"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Steinehüpfen"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Steineflitschen"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"neuter"
],
"word": "Ditschen"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "kacsázás"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "paratiti"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "ripi"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "ru",
"english": "lit: bake pancakes",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "pečʹ bliný",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "печь блины́"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"plural"
],
"word": "spitheagan"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "spoth an t-sìl"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sniog-sneog"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "struidearachd"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "leac an rìgh"
},
{
"_dis1": "90 10",
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "leacan teithe teinntein"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "54 46",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English coordinated pairs",
"parents": [
"Coordinated pairs",
"Terms by etymology"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "52 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "48 52",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "47 53",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"parents": [
"Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"_dis1": "21 79",
"word": "to play ducks and drakes with"
},
{
"_dis1": "21 79",
"word": "to make ducks and drakes of one's money"
},
{
"_dis1": "21 79",
"english": "a flat stone suitable for skimming across water",
"word": "drakestone"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1614, James Cooke, Tu Quoque",
"text": "This royal Caesar doth regard no cash; Has thrown away as much in ducks and drakes As would have bought some 50,000 capons.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The squandering of resources, especially money; used in expressions such as \"to make ducks and drakes of\", \"to play (at) ducks and drakes with\"."
],
"id": "en-ducks_and_drakes-en-noun-AU1-9ob1",
"links": [
[
"squandering",
"squandering"
],
[
"money",
"money"
],
[
"make",
"make"
],
[
"play",
"play"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, informal) The squandering of resources, especially money; used in expressions such as \"to make ducks and drakes of\", \"to play (at) ducks and drakes with\"."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "13 87",
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "squandering"
},
{
"_dis1": "13 87",
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "wasting"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"informal",
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "13 87",
"code": "bn",
"lang": "Bengali",
"roman": "chinimini khela",
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "ছিনিমিনি খেলা"
},
{
"_dis1": "13 87",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "dǎ shuǐpiāo",
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "打水漂"
},
{
"_dis1": "13 87",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "tuhlaus"
}
]
}
],
"word": "ducks and drakes"
}
{
"categories": [
"English coordinated pairs",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
"English uncountable nouns"
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "to play ducks and drakes with"
},
{
"word": "to make ducks and drakes of one's money"
},
{
"english": "a flat stone suitable for skimming across water",
"word": "drakestone"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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.\nSense “to squander, to throw away” shortly thereafter, attested 1614, from sense of “throwing money away, as if throwing stones away in this pastime”.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "-",
"head": "ducks and drakes"
},
"expansion": "ducks and drakes (uncountable)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1585, The nomenclator, or remembrancer of Adrianus Junius, John Higgins",
"text": "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."
}
],
"glosses": [
"A pastime of throwing flat stones across water so as to make them bounce off the surface."
],
"links": [
[
"pastime",
"pastime"
],
[
"flat",
"flat"
],
[
"bounce",
"bounce"
],
[
"surface",
"surface"
]
],
"tags": [
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English informal terms",
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1614, James Cooke, Tu Quoque",
"text": "This royal Caesar doth regard no cash; Has thrown away as much in ducks and drakes As would have bought some 50,000 capons.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The squandering of resources, especially money; used in expressions such as \"to make ducks and drakes of\", \"to play (at) ducks and drakes with\"."
],
"links": [
[
"squandering",
"squandering"
],
[
"money",
"money"
],
[
"make",
"make"
],
[
"play",
"play"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, informal) The squandering of resources, especially money; used in expressions such as \"to make ducks and drakes of\", \"to play (at) ducks and drakes with\"."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"informal",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "stone skipping"
},
{
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "stone skimming"
},
{
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "stone skiffing"
},
{
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "drakestoning"
},
{
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "squandering"
},
{
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "wasting"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "dǎ shuǐpiāo",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "打水漂"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "ketsen"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "kiskassen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "leipien heitto"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Steinehüpfen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "Steineflitschen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"neuter"
],
"word": "Ditschen"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "kacsázás"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "paratiti"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "ripi"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "lit: bake pancakes",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "pečʹ bliný",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "печь блины́"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"plural"
],
"word": "spitheagan"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "spoth an t-sìl"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "sniog-sneog"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "struidearachd"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "leac an rìgh"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "pastime",
"word": "leacan teithe teinntein"
},
{
"code": "bn",
"lang": "Bengali",
"roman": "chinimini khela",
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "ছিনিমিনি খেলা"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "dǎ shuǐpiāo",
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "打水漂"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "squandering",
"word": "tuhlaus"
}
],
"word": "ducks and drakes"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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