like water off a duck's back
Fleetingly, without having any significant, lasting, or apparent impact on someone or something. I was worried losing his job was going to trigger his depression, but it seemed to roll off him like water off a duck's back. I envy my sister because any criticism or judgment is like water off a duck's back to her.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
like water off a duck's back
Fig. easily; without any apparent effect. Insults rolled off John like water off a duck's back. The bullets had no effect on the steel door. They fell away like water off a duck's back.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
like water off a duck's back
Readily and without apparent effect. For example, The scathing reviews rolled off him like water off a duck's back. This expression alludes to the fact that duck feathers shed water. [Early 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
like water off a duck's back
You say that criticism is like water off a duck's back when it does not have any effect at all on the person being criticized. Insults like that are like water off a duck's back after all these years. He insists that the chants from the fans are like water off a duck's back to him. Note: The feathers on a duck's back are covered with an oily substance which stops them absorbing water so that it flows straight off them.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
like water off a duck's back
a remark or incident which has no apparent effect on a person.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
like water off a duck's back
Easily, smoothly, without ill effect. This expression, dating from the early nineteenth century, alludes to the way a duck’s feathers shed water. Charles Kingsley used it in The Water Babies (1863), “When men are men of the world, hard words run off them like water off a duck’s back.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
like water off a duck's back
Without any apparent effect. Ducks' feathers are waterproof. The preen (or, formally, the uropygial) gland at the base of the tail produces oil that spreads and covers the birds' outer coat so that water forms droplets on, but does not permeate, the feathers. That's why a critical remark that doesn't bother the person for whom it was intended rolls off like water off a duck's back.
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price