duck and dive

verb

To operate in a skilfully shifty or evasive manner.

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Meanings

verbduck and dive (third-person singular simple present ducks and dives, present participle ducking and diving, simple past ducked and dived or (chiefly US) ducked and dove, past participle ducked and dived)

present singular third person ducks and dives · participle present ducking and diving · past ducked and dived · US past ducked and dove · participle past ducked and dived

  1. UKcolloquialTo operate in a skilfully shifty or evasive manner.

    So what next? For now, at least, the prevailing wisdom in Europe is that people need something to divert them from the ongoing nightmares elsewhere. […] Best, some insist, to keep the show on the road and then duck and dive in the event of further Covid-19 issues.

    2021 January 12, Robert Kitson, “Is it morally right for rugby to host the Six Nations in a pandemic?”, in The Guardian
Cite this entry
APA

duck and dive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duck%20and%20dive

MLA

“duck and dive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duck%20and%20dive. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “duck and dive,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duck%20and%20dive.

Source: duck and dive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.