Skip to main content
lucky duckling

lucky duckling

8.2
A person who has good things happen to them
  • noun
  • /ˈlʌki ˈdʌklɪŋ/
  • Informal
translation icon : afortunado
  • Everyone called her a lucky duckling after she won the lottery twice.

Examples

  • He’s the lucky duckling who always manages to find free parking downtown.

  • You’re such a lucky duckling to get front row tickets to the concert!

  • She is such a lucky duckling!

  • Mark feels like a lucky duckling after winning the lottery.

  • Everyone called her a lucky duckling after she won the lottery twice.

  • He’s the lucky duckling who always manages to find free parking downtown.

  • You’re such a lucky duckling to get front row tickets to the concert!

Synonyms

lucky dog
vslucky duckling
  • Informal
2 5.8

A person who has very good luck

is seen as very fortunate or especially favored by others

Antonyms

5 3.0

A person who has bad luck or a hard life

How Lucky

devil's luck
  • Informal
7.5
lucky duckling
  • Informal
8.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

lucky + duckling

The overall meaning ('a person who is very fortunate') is directly built from 'lucky' (fortunate) combined with 'duckling' used as a playful/diminutive term; a learner who knows both words can infer the intended affectionate sense. The animal diminutive adds a colloquial, endearing nuance but does not create an unpredictable idiom, so the expression is compositionally transparent.

Etymology

Lucky duckling is an informal expression that may come from the playful image of a lucky small baby duck, a duckling, that always finds food or escapes trouble. So, calling someone a lucky duckling makes us think of a tiny creature that gets good things, which is why it means 'very fortunate' today.