to hunt where the ducks are

6.8

To look for chances where you are most likely to succeed

idiom

Informal

: ir donde están las oportunidades

The company decided to hunt where the ducks are by targeting a growing market segment.

Examples

In business, it's important to hunt where the ducks are rather than waste resources elsewhere.
If you want the best results, you need to hunt where the ducks are instead of taking unnecessary risks.
You should hunt where the ducks are to find the best opportunities!
It's important to hunt where the ducks are in business.
In order to maximize profits, you must hunt where the ducks are and focus on high-demand customers.
To succeed as a salesperson, always hunt where the ducks are by identifying potential clients in popular markets.
Smart investors always hunt where the ducks are to ensure their money goes where it will grow fastest.

Antonyms

to avoid

∞ 1.0

To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening

to miss an opportunity

14 2.8

Fail to use a chance to do something you want

How Targeted

to hunt where the ducks are

Informal

6.8

to cast a wider net

3 4.2

Surface Forms

hunt where the ducks are infinitive

hunted where the ducks are past

hunted where the ducks are past participle

hunting where the ducks are present participle

hunts where the ducks are third person singular

Morphology

hunt + where + the + duck + be

The literal composition (hunt + where the ducks are) is easily interpretable as ‘search in the place where prey is,’ so a learner can grasp the concrete sense. However, the intended meaning of ‘seek opportunities where success is likely’ requires mapping the hunting scenario onto an abstract domain (ducks → opportunities), a pragmatic/metaphorical inference that is not fully predictable from the words alone.

Etymology

Hunt where the ducks are comes from a simple hunting picture: go to the place where the ducks are so you can hunt them. That's why it now means 'to look for chances where success is most likely'.