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water off a duck's back

Cultural  
  1. To fail to catch on or make a mark: “The reporter's snide comments rolled off the candidate like water off a duck's back.”


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Now in its 19th series, criticism of The Apprentice falls "like water off a duck's back" these days, he said.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2025

The plot is thicker than water off a duck’s back.

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 2, 2019

Grammer: If we were 20, we’d be thinking about what we’re trying to do to make the characters believable. but at this point, it’s sort of like water off a duck’s back.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2018

Bad reviews, the few there are, glide off Buscemi like water off a duck’s back.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 17, 2017

The shafts of Miss Lundie's bitter wit glided off Mr. Geoffrey Delamayn like water off a duck's back.

From Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins

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