ENGLISH
REFERENCE

all duck or no dinner

idiom
Meaning

All or nothing.


Origin

first recorded 19th c.

First use appears in Australian English c. 1895.

Examples
SIMPLE

He bets all his money on one game, all duck or no dinner.

CONTEXTUAL

She decided to quit her job to start a business, choosing to go all duck or no dinner.

COMPLEX

The entrepreneur approached the high-stakes negotiation with an all duck or no dinner attitude, fully aware that failure would result in total ruin.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    break one's duck

    To do something for the first time.

  2. 02

    dead duck

    One who is in serious danger or trouble.

  3. 03

    duck down

    To crouch in order to hide or protect oneself.

  4. 04

    duck off

    To lie low; to hide.

  5. 05

    duck out

    To depart quickly or exit abruptly, especially in a manner which does not attract notice and before a meeting, event, etc. has concluded.

  6. 06

    duck soup

    Something which is easy; a piece of cake.

  7. 07

    hand in one's dinner pail

    To die.

  8. 08

    odd duck

    An unusual person, especially one with an idiosyncratic personality or peculiar behavioral characteristics.

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