Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

ducks and drakes

American  
[duhks uhn dreyks] / ˈdʌks ən ˈdreɪks /

noun

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

idioms

  1. play ducks and drakes with, to handle recklessly; squander: Also make ducks and drakes of.

    He played ducks and drakes with his fortune.
ducks and drakes British  

noun

  1. a game in which a flat stone is bounced across the surface of water

  2. to use recklessly; squander or waste

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ducks and drakes

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.