sitting duck

noun

1. a helpless or easy target or victim.

   a sitting duck for shady financial schemes.

sitting duck

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sitting duck¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

But, Mr Neill points out, some in the Western defence community are increasingly arguing that these strike groups are vulnerable, as they are effectively "sitting ducks" for any missile attacks.

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Then Norris made a mistake at La Source and that allowed Piastri to get even closer, which pretty much guaranteed Norris was a sitting duck.

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Chavez Jr, the 39-year-old former middleweight world champion, became a sitting duck behind a high guard as Paul, 28, controlled the fight with jabs and hooks to the head and body.

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Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino added: "It's really scary. It's terrifying. I mean, we all sit in these dugouts every night and in a lot of ways you kind of feel like sitting ducks."

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But L.A.’s housing stock is generally older, and many homes scattered across the region’s hills and mountains are sitting ducks — architecturally vulnerable if a fire sweeps through.

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