sitting duck
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noun
a helpless or easy target or victim: a sitting duck for shady financial schemes.
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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
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Origin of sitting duck
First recorded in 1940–45
Words nearby sitting duck
sitter, sit through, sit tight, sitting, Sitting Bull, sitting duck, sitting on a powder keg, sitting pretty, sitting room, sitting target, sitting tenant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for sitting duck
Cultural definitions for sitting duck
sitting duck
A very easy target: “His arguments were so simple, she was able to knock them down like sitting ducks.” The term comes from hunting, where it is much easier to hit ducks when they are sitting on the water than when they are in flight.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with sitting duck
sitting duck
An easy target, as in If you park in front of a fire hydrant, you're a sitting duck for a ticket. This term alludes to the ease with which a hunter can shoot a duck that remains in one spot, in contrast to one in flight. [First half of 1900s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.