ugly duckling

noun

1. an unattractive or unpromising child who becomes a beautiful or much-admired adult.

ugly duckling

noun

1. a person or thing, initially ugly or unpromising, that changes into something beautiful or admirable

Word History and Origins

Origin of ugly duckling¹

First recorded in 1880–85; after the bird in the story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen

Word History and Origins

Origin of ugly duckling¹

an allusion to The Ugly Duckling, a story by Hans Christian Andersen

Idioms and Phrases

A homely or unpromising individual who grows into an attractive or talented person, as in She was the family ugly duckling but blossomed in her twenties. This term alludes to Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale about a cygnet hatched with ducklings that is despised for its clumsiness until it grows up into a beautiful swan. The tale was first translated into English in 1846, and the term was used figuratively by 1871.