Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

line up one's ducks

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.77 in modern English

Syllables: line up one's -ducks
IPA

24

Scrabble Score

15

Letters

2

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To organize one's affairs so that one is ready to act efficiently.

Informal

Example Sentences

""Senator Allen was one reason he made up his mind to go to Washington. He'd like to get some of the windbags out of our way and line up our ducks.""
"On Saturday, August 1, the Commissioner lined up his ducks and summoned the owners to a conference the following day at 12:30 p.m. in his wood-paneled office on the twelfth floor at 410 Park Avenue."
"In other words, in the course of investigating the single contribution involving one company, Yellow Cab, they had discovered a whole chain involving other companies of C. Arnholt Smith and for that reason they wanted to get Thornton before he had time to line up his ducks."
"Horace hasn't yet learned to line up his ducks before he starts shooting."

Etymology

Unknown. Most likely a reference to the line of ducks in a shooting gallery.

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

lines up one's ducks (present, singular) lining up one's ducks (participle, present) lined up one's ducks (participle, past) lined up one's ducks (past)

Phrases

have one's ducks in a row

Frequently Paired Words

have one's ducks in a row

Questions

What does line up one's ducks mean?: To organize one's affairs so that one is ready to act efficiently.
Where does line up one's ducks come from?: Unknown. Most likely a reference to the line of ducks in a shooting gallery.

How to pronounce line up one's ducks

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