have one's ducks in a row

English

Alternative forms

• get one's ducks in a row, put one's ducks in a row

Etymology

Perhaps from the image of ducklings following their mother in an orderly line. See also line up one's ducks.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

have one's ducks in a row (third-person singular simple present has one's ducks in a row, present participle having one's ducks in a row, simple past and past participle had one's ducks in a row)

1. (idiomatic) To be organized; to have one's affairs in order; specifically, to have a multi-person effort coordinated towards the exact same goal.

   Wouldn't it be nice to have our ducks in a row and not have to search for the papers every time we needed them?

   • 1911, Kate Langley Bosher, Miss Gibbie Gault‎^[1]:

     "You didn't need us." The man standing next to the steps laughed. "The work was done before to-night. You had your ducks in a row all right."

See also

• line up one's ducks
• put one's house in order
• waterfowl alignment

Further reading

• Michael Quinion (created July 11, 2009, last updated June 23, 2012) “Ducks in a row”, in World Wide Words.
• Jonathon Green (2024) “have all one’s ducks in a row v.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang