Ducky

Posted by James Briggs on October 04, 2003

In Reply to: Ducky posted by R. Berg on October 04, 2003

: : Anyone have any idea what the phrase "I'm just ducky" refers to and/or where it originated.

: According to Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English "duck" was used as a colloquial endearment from about 1590, and "ducky," as an adjective expressing admiration, derived from that noun and has been used since about 1830.

When I was a boy in the 1930s in the East End of London a common greeting by a shopkeeper to a well known customer was 'hello, ducks!' I guess this has partly left the language, due to the huge ethnic changes in the East End since that time. However, I bet it still exists in places.

• Ducky TheFallen 04/October/03