P
Parinaz
Member
Persia
Persian
- Jan 22, 2024
- #1
Hello! Could someone please tell me what this sentence means?:
"Let's call a duck a duck if it's quacks. Shall we?"
I dont get the meaning.
I would be thankful🙏🏻
dojibear
Senior Member
Fresno CA
English (US - northeast)
- Jan 22, 2024
- #2
Parinaz said:
Let's call a duck a duck if it's quacks. Shall we?
The more common phrase (with the same meaning) is this:
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks: it's a duck.
In both cases, the meaning is this:
Don't use a euphemism or fancy wording. Say what it is.
This might be said in a situation where someone is using euphemisms.
lingobingo
Senior Member
London
English - England
- Jan 22, 2024
- #3
It’s a version of the (400-year-old) expression “call a spade a spade”,* which means to be honest and direct about things, not be afraid to call something what it really is (
Call a spade a spade - Wikipedia).
As dojibear says, this is conflated with a more recent common expression that goes something like:
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, chances are it is a duck!
So, in short, the OP sentence simply means: Let’s not beat about the bush here.
* To be avoided in the US, where it risks being misconstrued as offensive, because of a taboo meaning of the word spade in American English!
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natkretep
Moderato con anima (English Only)
Singapore
English (Singapore/UK), basic Chinese
- Jan 22, 2024
- #4
Parinaz, where did you encounter this? I can understand the expression, but it's not something I would say. I'm more likely to say 'call a spade a spade'. Ngrams suggests that this is much more common than 'call a duck a duck' even in AmE.
Crossposted.
Roxxxannne
Senior Member
American English (New England and NYC)
- Jan 22, 2024
- #5
lingobingo said:
It’s a version of the (400-year-old) expression “call a spade a spade”,* which means to be honest and direct about things, not be afraid to call something what it really is (
Call a spade a spade - Wikipedia).
As dojibear says, this is conflated with a more recent common expression that goes something like:
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, chances are it is a duck!So, in short, the OP sentence simply means: Let’s not beat about the bush here.
* To be avoided in the US, where it’s likely to be misconstrued as offensive, because of a taboo meaning of the word spade in American English!
It's not that, to my knowledge, you can't say the word 'spade' at all. If I'm working in the garden, I could say "Hand me that spade with the green handle" to someone standing nearby, and they would give me the long-handled digging tool I'm pointing at.
The problem lies in saying the word when there's enough ambiguity for a listener to think of the insulting slang word "spade" used for African Americans.
lingobingo
Senior Member
London
English - England
- Jan 22, 2024
- #6
Yes, I know that. My footnote was about that whole phrase, not just the word spade on its own. I would direct you to a former thread on exactly this, but it’s in a different forum.
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A
ain'ttranslationfun?
Senior Member
US English
- Jan 22, 2024
- #7
I've never encountered it, but "Let's call it's a duck if it quacks." is indeed related to the expression cited in #s2 & 3.
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heypresto
Senior Member
South East England
English - England
- Jan 22, 2024
- #8
Please tell us where you saw this sentence. Who said it, to whom, and in what context?
U
USMeg
Senior Member
Virginia, USA
English/USA
- Jan 23, 2024
- #9
It is a blending of two idiomatic expressions.
People are sometimes uncomfortable about saying "spade"--though the expression call a spade a spade is talking about a shovel. That word as a racist epithet has pretty much fallen out of use.
The two things that are being inaptly mingled here really mean two different things.
"Calling a spade a spade" is about not using flowery language to dress up or hide something (i.e., not "beating around the bush"). It is perfectly idiomatic and still quite common.
Call a spade a spade - Wikipedia.
The "duck test" is about refusing to acknowledge that something is true despite all the supporting evidence that is before you.
Duck test - Wikipedia
The expression in the OP borders on the nonsensical. Please don't use it.
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ewie
Senior Member
Manchester 🏴🇬🇧
English English
- Jan 23, 2024
- #10
USMeg said:
The expression in the OP borders on the nonsensical. Please don't use it.
(I rather like it: it reminds me of Does the Pope sh_t in the woods? ~ which never fails to make me smile.)
Roxxxannne
Senior Member
American English (New England and NYC)
- Jan 23, 2024
- #11
One of the problems with altering a common phrase to be amusing is that the original phrase has to be recognizable in the altered version.
'Does the Pope sh_t in the woods?" works because it lifts "Pope" from "Is the Pope Catholic?" and inserts it in "Does a bear sh_t in the woods?" Both expressions have to do with naming something that is a characteristic of the Pope or a bear (two wildly different creatures).
"Let's call a duck a duck if
it quacks. Shall we?" is too far removed from "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck" to obviously be an adaptation of that expression, the point of which is that the object has all the obvious signs of "duckness."
If it's supposed to be a play on "let's call a spade a spade," then adding "if it quacks" is superfluous; the duck version would be "Let's call a duck a duck."
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