subs. phr. (nautical).—The ship’s poulterer; also BILLY DUCKS.
1840. A. A. HARWOOD, U.S.N., Mess-Table Chat. As to chanticleer, the keeper of the livestock, ‘JEMMY DUCKS,’ had long ceased to regard him as worthy of his solicitude.
1883. W. C. RUSSELL, Sailors’ Language, s.v.
