Also: have your ducks in a row
Meaning of Idiom ‘Get (or have) Your Ducks in a Row’
To get or have your (or one’s) ducks in a row means to be well organized and prepared; to have all the facts right; to have become efficient; to have one’s affairs in order. 1Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,2Ayto, John. [http://amzn.to/2vdGvI7 Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms]. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.,3Spears, https://amzn.to/2CEGuCz Richard A. McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. McGraw-Hill, 2006.,4Heacock, Paul. Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms]. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010.
Sentence Examples
“Before you go into court you’d better have all your ducks in a row.”
“Don’t worry about Jane, she’ll be ready. You’d better worry about getting your own ducks in a row.”
“Do we have our ducks in a row? I don’t want any surprises.”
“Uh, you know, between the packing and errands and, uh, getting my ducks in a row, maybe, um, a week or two.” — Breaking Bad: I.F.T. (2010)
“You’ve got to have your ducks in a row if we’re gonna nail Frank Mantajano. OK?”— Fled (1996)
“But after the unfortunate situation with Uriel, I felt it necessary to pay a visit…get my ducks in a row.” “I am not one of your ducks.” — Supernatural: It’s a Terrible Life (2009)
“It’s gonna be hard to round up anybody on a Saturday. It could be Monday or Tuesday before we get our ducks in a row.” — The X Files: Irresistible (1995)
“Hale called me this morning. He’s getting his ducks in a row. Let me guess. You’re one of his ducks.” — Sons of Anarchy: Call of Duty (2011)
Origin
Used since the 1970s, this idiom may allude to lining up target ducks in a shooting gallery, as at a carnival. heritage
As you can see from some of the above examples, this idiom is compositional, meaning that the invividual components of the idiom can be understood as representing parts of the meaning of the idiom. Ducks can be seen as the things needing to be organized, while getting them in a row, can be seen as getting those things organized.
