get one's ducks in a row



get one's ducks in a row

Also, have one's ducks in a row. Complete one's preparations, become efficient and well organized, as in I'm trying to get my ducks in a row before I go to Europe. This synonym for get one's act together probably alludes to lining up target ducks in a shooting gallery. [Slang; 1970s]
See also: duck, get, row

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
JoyJOIEnglish
IlseIL-sə (German)German, Dutch
Feivel-Yiddish
Adelita-Spanish (Latin American)
Filippafee-LIP-pah (Swedish)Russian, Greek, Swedish, Italian
Benigno-Italian, Spanish, Portuguese