subs. (colloquial).—1. Linen trousers; generally WHITE DUCKS. [From the material and colour.] At Eton worn only by men in the boats. For synonyms, see BAGS and KICKS.
1835. DICKENS, Sketches by Boz, p. 248. There’s our man, Tom; he can have a pair of DUCKS of mine, and a check shirt of Bob’s.
1846. Punch, vol. X., p. 263.
| I wore my Russia DUCKS, | |
| In their beautiful WHITENESS. |
1888. H. KING, Savage London, p. 38. Billy should ‘do the thing proper,’ and be married in a pair of white DUCKS.
2. (stock exchange).—Aylesbury Dairy Co. shares.
3. (Anglo-Indian).—Officials of the Bombay service.
CHANCE THE DUCKS (q.v., ante.)
TO MAKE DUCKS AND DRAKES OF ONE’S MONEY, verb. phr. (common).—To squander money as lavishly as stones are squandered at ‘ducks and drakes.’ [In allusion to the childish game. Lemprière (Art. Scipio Africanus the Younger) refers to Scipio and Lælius taking to ‘ducks and drakes’ as a supplementary recreation to shell-gathering, and an early notice of the game occurs in Minucius Felix (Octavius cap. iii.):—From the beach they choose a shell, thin and polished by the waves; they hold it in a horizontal position, and then whirl it along as near the surface of the sea as possible, so as to make it skim the surge in its even motion, or spring up and bound from time to time out of the water. That boy is conqueror whose shell both runs out farthest and bounds oftenest.] Variants are TO BLUE ONE’S PILE; TO SWEAT (q.v.). Fr., galvauder; manger sa légitime.
1605. CHAPMAN, etc., Eastward Hoe! Act i. Do nothing, be like a gentleman, be idle … MAKE DUCKS AND DRAKES with shillings.
1641. H. PEACHAM, The Worth of a Peny, in ARBER’S English Garner, vol. VI., p. 259. I remember in Queen Elizabeths time a wealthy Citizen of London left his Son a mighty Estate in Mony, who imagining, he should never be able to spend it, would usually MAKE DUCKS AND DRAKES in the Thames, with Twelve pences, as Boyes are wont to do with Tile-sherds, and Oyster-shels.
d. 1680. S. BUTLER, Character of a Miser, in Remains, vol. II., p. 343 (ed. 1759). And he that MADE DUCKS AND DRAKES with his Money enjoyed it every way as much.
1698. WARD, The London Spy, pt. xvi., p. 372. They hook in the old fool again TO MAKE DUCKS AND DRAKES with his money.
1700. W. DARREL, The Gentlemen Instructed, 18. I would neither fawn on money for money’s sake, nor DUCK AND DRAKE it away for a frolick.
1849. THACKERAY, Pendennis, ch. lviii. We’ve tied up the property, so that he can’t MAKE DUCKS AND DRAKES with it.
1858. G. ELIOT, Janet’s Repentance, ch. xxv. They say Mrs Dempster will have as good as six-hundred a-year at least…. It’s well if she doesn’t MAKE DUCKS AND DRAKES of it somehow.
