Also: Like a sitting duck
Meaning of Idiom ‘A Sitting Duck’
A sitting duck is an easy target; someone who is easy to attack or criticize; someone in a very vulnerable position; someone easily caught or found. 1,2
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Examples of Use
“If we stay here we’re sitting ducks, said the sergeant. Let’s move to a more defensible position.”
“That’s really not a good place to leave your car. In that neighborhood, it’s a sitting duck for thieves.”
“If the mayor doesn’t get ahead of this scandal, he’s a sitting duck.”
Origin
Used since the first half of the 1900s.
This idiom alludes to the relative ease of shooting a duck that is sitting in one spot, whether on the ground or in the water, as opposed to a duck that is in flight. 3
More Idioms Starting with S
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- Play Cat and Mouse
- Look What the Cat Dragged In
- Down the Rabbit Hole
- Beat a Dead Horse
- Monkey Around
- Go Whole Hog
More Bird Idioms
- Get Your Ducks in a Row
- Watch Like a Hawk
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- Catbird Seat, in the
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More Duck Idioms
More Sit/Sitting Idioms
References- Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
- Spears, Richard A. McGraw-Hill’s American Idioms Dictionary. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008.
- Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.