Gabriel Ray from Virginia Beach, Virginia, wonders about the history of something his grandfather used to say in a shoulder-shrugging way: Everything’s duck but the bill. The origin of this phrase is unclear, but it’s similar to a couple of old proverbs: Nothing ruins a duck like its bill and A wise duck takes care of its bill both serve as warnings to be careful with the things coming out of one’s mouth, or metaphorically, out of one’s bill. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Everything’s Duck But the Bill”
Hi there, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, this is Gabriel Ray.
Hey, Gabriel, where are you calling us from?
Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Ooh, nice.
Welcome to the show, what’s up?
I’m at work, but I told my boss, so I stepped outside to figure out the history of my grandfather’s phrases.
Wonderful.
Let’s hear it, what are they?
Well, the one that I was thinking about was, everything’s duck but the bill.
Everything’s duck but the bill?
Yes.
Wow, tell us more.
When did he say that?
What was he doing when he was saying that?
He said it all the time.
And then my dad started saying it, and my grandfather passed away.
So a lot of the times it happens in a bad situation.
Like last time I remember my dad doing it, Bill had showed up for a family dinner that was a little higher than expected.
And he was like, everything’s duck but the bill.
And then my sister didn’t make it in a ballet tryout.
My dad was like, well, everything’s duck but the bill.
And we just kind of laughed because it’s like, what does that even mean, dad?
Why do you always say that?
And he’s like, you know, son, to be honest, I just don’t know.
But my dad said it all the time.
And so he just started saying it.
So whether it’s good or bad, you know, surprised or, you know, whatever he’s doing, he’ll just take a breath and like, well, everything’s duck but the bill.
There are a bunch of those in English, phrases that we say, just nonsense, non sequiturs that we just throw in to provide glue in a conversation and move back and forth between awkward situations.
Are they all as awkward as this one?
Often, yes. Often.
Well, I’m wondering if he just made it up.
I mean, there’s an old proverb that goes, nothing ruins a duck like its bill.
It’s a warning to keep your mouth shut.
You know, you and your big mouth, you know, wise duck takes care of its bill.
So you’re saying in an awkward situation where somebody doesn’t make the ballet and the meal isn’t what you wanted, it might just be good just to be silent and polite.
Yeah, maybe. Or, I mean, you talked about him getting the bill for a meal at a restaurant.
We got the wordplay there, too.
Yeah. Yeah. Was he a punster?
Sometimes, yeah, he is.
He’s a sharp guy, but he really just says it because none of us know what it means.
And for the longest time, I thought it was like a secret that he wouldn’t tell us until I turned 18 or something.
But that wasn’t true.
He never knew what it meant either.
Well, you know what? We can crowdsource this.
If somebody else uses this expression, we will hear about it and we’ll let you know, okay?
Okay.
Very cool.
Let us know if you find out more too, all right?
Okay, I will.
Thank you.
Take care, Gabriel.
Bye.
Thanks a lot.
You too.
Bye.
Bye-bye.
Email words@waywordradio.org.
I don’t know if this is directly connected to this phrase, but my dad always says that things that are going well are “just ducky” and things that are not going well are (sarcastic font) “just ducky”