to duck and dive
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
esquivar
- The boxer had to duck and dive to avoid his opponent's powerful punches.
Got in a room with him, started fighting him two rounds, first round ducking and diving, trying to start the way of his job.
- Got in a room with him, started fighting him two rounds, first round ducking and diving, trying to start the way of his job.
Examples
-
When faced with tough questions, he would duck and dive instead of giving a straight answer.
-
In the busy marketplace, she learned to duck and dive between the crowds to get to her destination.
-
Got in a room with him, started fighting him two rounds, first round ducking and diving, trying to start the way of his job.
Synonyms
117
1.7
To lower your head or body quickly to avoid being hit
52
4.4
To get away from someone or something by being clever and tricky
30
3.0
To move quickly to avoid being hit
3
4.2
To lower your body quickly by bending your knees to avoid being seen or hit
2
8.1
To make a quick fake move to get past a defender
Antonyms
How Evasive
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both verbs describe physical evasive movements: 'duck' means to lower the head/body to avoid impact and 'dive' conveys a quick downward or forward movement. A B1 learner who knows these constituent meanings can readily infer that 'duck and dive' describes moving quickly/skillfully to avoid something, and the joined sequence is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so the phrase is transparent.
Etymology
The phrase duck and dive comes from two quick actions: duck (lower your head) and dive (move down or under). Picture someone bending and slipping through gaps to avoid a crowd or danger, and that's why it means 'to move quickly to avoid something' or 'to evade a difficult situation'.