Where does the expression “Don’t break a duck’s three legs” come from? | EUROtoday

On Dec 23, 2024

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THISyou do not break three legs of a duck: the expression evokes, with a touch of contempt, what’s banal, what hardly impresses. But if you concentrate on it, what does it actually imply? Why three legs? And why a duck? Let’s take the phrases significantly; it is a chance to discover the curiosities of pure evolution. And the reply might properly break three legs of our duck…

First, why this expression? The Expressio web site, which dissects expressions – and barely disappoints – appears to be brief on the origin. He is content material with this clarification: “Given the number of three-legged ducks that exist in the universe (and beyond), succeeding in breaking all the legs of one of them would be a miraculous feat. Not breaking a duck’s three legs means being like everyone else or extremely ordinary. » Certainly.

ALSO READ Where does the expression “brest thunder” come from? Another principle, extra picturesque, dates again to a time when the time period “duck” designated one thing apart from a feathered web-footed chicken. Knock horses, in any other case referred to as “dodgers”, would have performed a task. These horses, poorly constructed and clumsy, have been the laughing inventory of the riders. It was stated that such a horse, with its joints turned inwards, was good at breaking its rider’s legs (and vice versa). The thought would have slipped from the stables to the ponds, the phrase dodger turning into duck, maybe for the love of puns. Thus, a three-legged horse or duck symbolizes the inconceivable.

Why are there no three-legged beings?

In science, the primary query we all the time ask is “why?” “. An American researcher believes that the second should be “why not?” “. Why are there no three-legged animals? Tracy Thomson, a professor on the University of California, as soon as requested herself the identical query: why has nature by no means produced an actual tripod? Science fiction tales are filled with three-legged creatures, however the actual world is fiercely against this concept. The reply, in keeping with Tracy Thomson, is written in our genes.

Animals, whether or not they have two, 4 or 100 legs, are ruled by a elementary precept: bilateral symmetry. Most species have a proper and a left leg, every mirroring the opposite. This sample has been etched in genetic stone for tens of millions of years, even earlier than limbs appeared.

It is subsequently unimaginable – or at the least extremely inconceivable – for an animal to evolve with an odd variety of legs, believes Tracy Thomson. Perhaps this leg configuration continued as a result of options with even limbs proved efficient sufficient to outlive and thrive, whereas these with odd limbs struggled extra.

Some animals flirt with the idea of a tripod

The Californian doctoral scholar explains that the primary animals weren’t symmetrical, however that, over time, genetic evolution favored a bilateral group, requiring two an identical sides in all circumstances. This is why all of us have two eyes, two arms, two legs, a head and a tail. Biological improvements or advances fall inside this framework of bilateral symmetry.

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Kangaroo of the day

Answer

That stated, nature is smarter than we predict. Some animals flirt with the idea of the tripod, with out ever breaking the genetic rule. Take the parrot: when climbing steep surfaces, it makes use of its beak as a 3rd limb, leaning on it to climb. Of course, we is not going to discuss a three-legged parrot.

The identical goes for the kangaroo, which rests on its decrease limbs and its massive tail. Also in people: your great-uncle and his wood cane can attest to this. You most likely know this riddle: “Which creature has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon and three in the evening?” »

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