ducks and drakes
A pastime of throwing flat stones across water so as to make them bounce off the surfaceA pastime of throwing flat stones across water so as to make them bounce off the surface.
Meaning
2 senses(uncountable)A pastime of throwing flat stones across water so as to make them bounce off the surface.
Steinehüpfen, Steineflitschen, Ditschen
печь блины́pečʹ bliný, бли́нчикиblínčiki, пуска́ние бли́нчиковpuskánije blínčikov
a game in which a flat stone is bounced along the surface of calm water
(idiomatic, informal, uncountable)The squandering of resources, especially money; used in expressions such as "to make ducks and drakes of", "to play (at) ducks and drakes with".
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
1585, due to association with waterfowl. The precise origin is unclear, and may be from du1585, 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Synonyms
6 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable