Duck: Difference between revisions

# ''noun'': 1. small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs; "the duck had to duck to avoid the bridge", 2. the meat of said bird.

 

 

You would think that for a rational person, context would clarify these things. The source of the humour comes in this case from this expectation of people's ability to discern the intended meaning of an [[Ambiguous Syntax|ambiguous utterance]] being [[Subverted Trope|subverted]] by their apparent confusion in the heat of the moment. In either case, there is the further opportunity for "slapstick" comedy in the character throwing themselves to the floor or being struck by a fast moving animal. [[Rule of Funny|The improbability of this happening is justified in the context of a comedy by its providing amusement to the viewer.]]

 

See also [[Ambiguous Syntax]] (of which "I saw [[Unusual Euphemism|her duck]]" is a famous example). Also see [[Inherently Funny Words]]; this joke gains some of its humor from the duck's status as an inherently funny word.

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

'''Hideki:''' What was a duck? }}

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* ''[[Mad Magazine]]'' Super Special #36 (Fall 1981), article "If Comic Characters Were Psychoanalyzed". [[Donald Duck]] tries to overcome his bad temper by ignoring people who insult him. One day he's walking along and someone repeatedly yells "Duck!" at him. He ignores it because he thinks the guy is taunting him for being a duck, and runs into the branch the guy was trying to warn him to avoid.

* ''Mad'' #19 (January 1955) had a parody "Mickey Rodent" which used this as a [[Running Gag]]. Darnold gets a moment of [[Genre Savvy]] later, leading to this (note that logically the words "verb" and "noun" are backwards. And "quick" is the parody for "quack".):

'''Darnold:''' ...Ahh!...Then I can remain standing! }}

::Darnold immediately gets hit because he didn't duck.

'''Mickey:''' ...Yes, but you didn't let me finish my sentence, which, if completed, would have been..."Hey, Darnold Duck, DUCK!" }}

''(Lenore starts dancing)'' }}

 

== [[Film]] ==

* From ''[[Hot Shots]]!'':

(Admiral Benson hits head on desk while ducking) }}

* In ''[[Rio]]'', while on the run:

'''Jewel''': No! Duck! }}

 

* In ''[[The Bartimaeus Trilogy]]'' (''Ptolemy's Gate'') Bartimaeus points out a duck to Nathaniel, who interprets it as the command.

* In the YA novel ''Yours Turly, Shirley'' by [[Ann M Martin]], Shirley tells her sister to duck. Not yet understanding all the American slang, Jackie looks around for the bird and is promptly splattered with mashed potatoes.

* Mark Helprin's ''A City in Winter'', the narrator (the unnamed queen) relates a moment from her past when she was told by two bakers to duck under the counter to hide. At the time, she didn't know the expression but ducked anyways, thinking that she'd find a duck under the counter.

 

* The children's show [[Zoboomafoo]] did this [[Once an Episode]], generally followed by a trained exotic bird flying through and dropping a letter. Every time it is pointed out that it's "not a duck", followed by some explanation to the [[Constantly Curious]] child that no, that's a falcon, or a condor, etc. (At one point, this is actually lampshaded by using...an actual duck.)

* From [[Due South]], we get this exchange while our heroes are being stealthy:

'''Vecchio:''' (gets to his feet) Duck...Duck...Duck means ''duck''; duck doesn't mean '''duck'''! ...I hate my life. }}

* A ''[[Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' episode had Rob in sneezing fits around Laura. She takes it to be psychosomatic, but later, while going to bed, she regards a new pillow and cries out "Duck down!" and Rob goes into a crouch. Turns out he's allergic to the duck feathers in the pillows.

** Later, in the same episode, when the children heard a rumbling coming from the campfire (which was actually the popcorn popping), they took cover while the same boy yelled this again.

'''Buffy:''' What? Duck? There's a duck? *gets hit in the head by zombie* }}

 

* The ''Capitol Steps'' song "Sunni Side of Tikrit," [[Lyrical Dissonance|an upbeat song about life in a war-ravaged city]], has the line "Our state bird is the '''DUCK!'''" [[Don't Explain the Joke|(as in, duck to avoid the incoming shrapnel).]]

 

== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==

* ''[[The Far Side]]'':

'''Caption:''' "Do you ever run out of ideas?" asked the interviewer. "Well, sometimes," said the cartoonist. }}

* One strip of ''Mutts'' has someone yell "Duck!" at a baby swan swimming in a pond. The swan looks over his shoulder and goes on an angry rant about how he's a swan, not a duck - and then hits his head on a tree branch hanging over the water.

* Played with in a [[Beetle Bailey]] comic:

'''Sarge''': Did you, by any chance, mean "Duck"? }}

 

== [[Puppet Shows]] ==

* One Veterinarian's Hospital sketch on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' had a duck as a patient. This trope was used (multiple times) as its usual [[Hurricane of Puns]].

 

* [[Bill Engvall]] uses this as an example of how his wife never listens to him. As he explains to her, if he saw something coming towards her and yelled "Duck!" she would not duck right away but instead try to find what he was referring to and get killed. According to Engvall, his wife acknowledged the truth behind this, but then points out that if she ''did'' duck whenever Bill said "Duck!", he would do it just to mess with her. Bill's response: "Touche."

 

* [[Greater Tuna]]: Petey Fisk briefly mentions this trope in a short speech, [[Captain Obvious|the rest of which is also about ducks.]]

 

== Toys ==

* A variation occurs in ''[[Bionicle]]''. When Tarduk introduces himself by shouting his name at Vezon, Vezon ducks to avoid the tar.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

'''SpongeBob''' (while ducking): Where? }}

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Was [http://jaadrih.comicgenesis.com/d/20070922.html done] in ''The Prime of Ambition'' as a practical joke.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* [[Red vs. Blue]]: In Season 3, the Reds and Blues work together to inflitrate O'Malley's base. As they're sneaking around, turrets open fire on them.

'''Caboose''': Duck? Where? I LOVE ducks! }}

** Somewhat justified, considering that [[Cloudcuckoolander|Caboose is the kind of person who WOULD confuse the two meanings of the word]]

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[Finding Nemo]]'' has a reversal of the usual order:

* A ''[[Rugrats]]'' episode, with Chuckie being a backseat driver on Spike's back:

''(A group of ducks wait for them ahead, forcing Spike to skid to a halt)'' }}

* Duck is also a brand of adhesive tape, as Coop shows us on ''[[Megas XLR]]''. The call for "Duck!" from Mira causes Coop to think of it, saving the day.

* There was one episode of ''[[Chowder]]'' when people were playing a sport dealing with a giant ball (the name is way too long for anyone to memorize). There was one player who had dodged numerous obstacles. Truffles then yelled "Duck!" The players turn around, but are eaten by a giant duck.

* In an episode of ''[[The Secret Show]]'', Anita and Victor are in a Chinese restaurant, resulting in the following exchange:

(Victor is hit in the face.) }}

(Arthur ducks, and a worker -- who happens to be a duck -- walks by and quacks.) }}

** Also this exchange:

'''Brain:''' No Buster duck! (His remote control plane whizzes by his head) }}

'''Hokey Wolf:''' No, that's Hokey Wolf, not Hokey Duck. What do I look like? A fox, maybe, but not a duck! }}

* [[Wallace and Gromit|A Close Shave]]

'''Wallace:''' Where? }}

* In ''[[The Swan Princess]]'', Prince Derek has his servants dress up as animals so he and his friend can have target practice (using non-lethal paintball-esque arrows). One of the servants is dressed as a duck. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* I vaguely remember a scene in ''[[Gummi Bears]]'' where a fish goes flying through the air, one of the characters yells "Duck!", and another character remarks, "That's not a duck, it's a fish." either before or after getting it in the face.

* In one episode of [[Pinky and The Brain]], based on ''Around The World in 80 Days'', Brain somehow comes to the conclusion that by breaking the 80-day record he can eventually achieve world domination. So, while they travel via hot-air balloon through France, Pinky notices something coming, flips through his handy foreign-language phrasebook, and...

'''Pinky''' (dazed): Oui, oui... }}

* In the [[Total Drama World Tour]] episode ''Slap Slap Revolution'', Team Victory is charged by a [[Killer Rabbit|cute little goat]]:

'''[[The Ditz|Lindsey]]''': No, it's a goat. }}

'''Luigi:''' I'm "gettin' down!" }}

** In another Super Mario cartoon series, Luigi heard a bossy King shouting "Duck, you idiot!". The king was shouting at a servant for a roast duck but Luigi assumed he was being commanded to get down and did so, saving himself from an upcoming object. "At least he warned me."

* In an episode of ''[[The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]'', Rabbit is attempting to gather honey from a hive to trade with Pooh for a rabbit bookend (it's a long story). Tigger helps him by attaching plungers to his feet, enabling him to climb up the tree, to which Rabbit states he feels like a bird.

''(Onscreen comes a boomerang Tigger had thrown earlier)'' }}

* In ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'', Babs once pulled this on Plucky.

* Used repeatedly in [[Darkwing Duck]].

'''Darkwing''': Yes? ::gets hit by the object he was supposed to duck.:: Next time, be more specific. }}

* Happens once in the ''[[Blasters Universe]]'' episode "You're History":

'''Max''': No, MEL, "head's up" means...(''sees a cannon'') ...DUCK! }}

* ''[[Kissyfur]]'' villains Floyd and Jolene had a Duck scene where Floyd told Jolene to duck and she thought he had seen a duck they could eat.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]

[[Category:Language Tropes]]