A Sitting Duck

This week’s idiom: “A sitting duck.”

Meaning:

Someone or something that is ‘a sitting duck’ is an easy to hit target. Someone who is a ‘sitting duck’ is open to an easy physical or verbal attack.

Origin:

This expression quite obviously comes from hunters, and duck shooters in particular. A sitting duck, on merely bobbing on the surface of the water, as opposed to one swimming, diving, dabbling or flying, is an easy target for the shooter.

Example:

Left alone on stage, he was completely at the mercy of the angry crowd. James felt like a sitting duck.

Disclaimer 1: The writer of this blog in no way endorses duck shooting.

Disclaimer 2: No ducks, nor any other birds, were harmed in taking the photo below.

Please note: the photo below is of a STANDING duck. I don’t have a photo of a sitting duck – yet.

UPDATE: I should point out the the bird shown in the photo is an Australian Wood Duck. The Wood Duck found in North America is quite a different species.

Australian Wood Duck (male)