out for a duck
English edit
Etymology edit
From the use of duck to mean a batsman's score of 0 in cricket.
Phrase edit
- (cricket) Having batted no hits for the entire game.
- 2012, Andrew Flintoff, Ashes to Ashes: One Test After Another:
- The inevitable happened - I was out for a duck and was furious when I got back to the dressing room.
- 2013, Robert Winder, The Little Wonder: The Remarkable History of Wisden:
- The batsman out first ball is out for a duck, no matter how fervently and frequently he replays the awful moment in his mind's eye; a missed catch is a drop, however intricate and extenuating the context; and wickets claimed in the post-match bar do not count, even if the bowler believes them "deserved".
- 2014, Philip Barker, Lord's Firsts: 200 Years of Making History at Lord’s Cricket Ground, page 98:
- Shaw's five victims included Australian skipper, David Gregory, out for a duck.