ducks and drakes

noun

Also duck and drake. a pastime in which flat stones or shells are thrown across water so as to skip over the surface several times before sinking.

Idioms for ducks and drakes

    play ducks and drakes with, to handle recklessly; squander: He played ducks and drakes with his fortune. Also make ducks and drakes of.

Origin of ducks and drakes

First recorded in 1575–85; from a fancied likeness to a waterfowl's movements

Words nearby ducks and drakes

duckie, ducking stool, duckling, duckpin, ducks, ducks and drakes, ducktail, duckweed, duckwheat, ducky, ducommun

Example sentences from the Web for ducks and drakes

  • Master Faustus, I know you for a man who plays away his money at ducks-and-drakes, and who has a loose tongue.

    Faustus |Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger

British Dictionary definitions for ducks and drakes

ducks and drakes

noun (functioning as singular)

a game in which a flat stone is bounced across the surface of water
make ducks and drakes of, play ducks and drakes with or play at ducks and drakes with to use recklessly; squander or waste