English · Idiom Candidate

like water off a duck's back

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Having no effect or making no impression

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

không có tác động hoặc không để lại ấn tượng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: water running off a duck's feathers

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The criticism rolled off him like water off a duck's back

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Equivalents & related

Near equivalent như nước đổ đầu vịt like water off a duck's back. Tiếng Việt Near equivalent như nước đổ lá khoai like water off a duck's back. Tiếng Việt Near equivalent let something slip Accidentally reveal a secret or piece of information English · via như nước đổ đầu vịt

Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.

Topics: Water Ducks & geese

Common questions

What does “like water off a duck's back” mean?

Having no effect or making no impression Literally: water running off a duck's feathers

Is “like water off a duck's back” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

What is the closest equivalent?

“như nước đổ đầu vịt” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.