like water off a duck's back

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Prepositional phrase

like water off a duck's back

1. (simile, colloquial, idiomatic) Without immediate or lasting effects.
   • 1919, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 18, in Rainbow Valley:

     "She combs me down with her tongue sometimes though, but that just slips off me like water off a duck's back."

   • 2009 January 2, Jan Espeut, “The honeymoon is over”, in Jamaica Gleaner, retrieved 20 Jan. 2009:

     Scandal after scandal would break, but it would be like water off a duck's back; no heads rolled, and no one seemed particularly perturbed.

Usage notes

• Used especially in relation to unheeded criticism.

Translations

without effects; in a manner having no effect

Afrikaans: soos water op 'n eend se rug (af) (literally “like water on a duck's back”) Czech: jedním uchem tam, druhým ven Icelandic: eins og að skvetta vatni á gæs Malay: bagai mencurah air ke daun keladi Polish: jak po kaczce (pl), jak woda po gęsi Russian: как с гу́ся вода́ (ru) (kak s gúsja vodá) Swedish: som vatten på en gås Vietnamese: như nước đổ đầu vịt, như nước đổ lá khoai, như nước đổ lá môn

See also

• water off a duck's back
• like a duck takes to water
• Teflon (adjective)

References

• “Like water off a duck's back”, in BBC Learning English‎, BBC, 2014 October 28