Feifei
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I’m Feifei, and I’m joined by Beth. Now, I noticed you ducked out of Georgie’s party early last night, Beth. All OK?
Beth
Hmm, I did, but I can’t tell you why – it’s too embarrassing!
Feifei
Oo, secretive! Now I really want to know…
Beth
Well, I can talk about ‘duck out’, which is what we’re looking at today. If you ‘duck out’, you leave quickly, and often quietly, without people noticing.
Feifei
So you might ‘duck out’ of a long meeting or class, or a boring party. You leave early and suddenly.
Beth
Well, Georgie’s party definitely wasn’t boring.
Feifei
No, it wasn’t. Actually, the other day we had a big family get-together. After the meal, I ducked out and went for a walk to avoid washing up.
Beth
Oh, dear. You ducked out of the washing up, Feifei?
Feifei
Yes. Well, let’s listen to more examples of ‘duck out’.
Examples
Do you mind if I duck out of the meeting early? I’ve got a doctor’s appointment.
The concert was amazing, but we ducked out before the end because we wanted to miss the traffic.
Ah, this is a bit boring. Let’s duck out.
Beth
‘Duck’ here comes from the verb. If you ‘duck’, you lower your head or body quickly to avoid being seen. If you’re tall, you might duck to get through a doorway, for example.
Feifei
So ‘duck out’ is similar. Remember, ‘duck out’ means to leave somewhere early and quickly. So, are you going to tell me why you ducked out of Georgie’s party, or not?
Beth
Well, I had a wardrobe malfunction. I sat down and my dress completely ripped, and I could not carry on dancing looking like that!
Feifei
Oh no! We’ll be back next time with another useful English phrase. See you soon!
Beth
Bye!