Has anyone ever told you that you need to get your ducks in a row? If someone has, did you know what that person meant?
If you don't have any pet ducks, it might sound a little strange to you. However, getting your ducks in a row doesn't have anything to do with taking care of your pets.
Getting your ducks in a row means putting your life in order. If you have all your ducks in a row, you are prepared and organized. If all your ducks are in a row, everything will go just like you planned.
This expression comes from the way a mother duck takes care of her ducklings. When she walks, the ducklings walk neatly in a row behind her. She does this so that she knows where all the ducklings are, and none of the ducklings will get lost. If the ducklings begin to walk away or get out of line, the mother duck will put them back in the row so that she can keep walking without losing any of her little ones.
The next time you see people who need to get better organized or prepared, try telling them to get their ducks in a row. But first, check to make sure yours already are! (Kayleen Hartman, Staff Writer)
有人告訴過你要「get your ducks in a row」嗎？假如有，你知道那個人是什麼意思嗎？
假如你沒有養寵物鴨，這聽起來可能有點奇怪。不過，「getting your ducks in a row」與照顧寵物一點關係都沒有。
「Getting your ducks in a row」意思是讓你的生活有條不紊。假如你有條不紊，你就是準備好了，有組織性。假如你做事情有條有理，事事都會照你的計畫進行。
這個片語源自於母鴨照顧小鴨的方式。母鴨行走時，小鴨都會整齊排隊走在她身後。如此，母鴨就會知道所有小鴨在哪裡，沒有小鴨會走失。假如小鴨開始走遠或脫隊，母鴨就會把牠們帶回隊中，這樣她才能在沒有小鴨走失的情況下繼續行走。
下次你看見有人需要更有組織性或做更好的準備時，試著要他們「get their ducks in a row」。不過首先，要先確定自己已經做到！
（翻譯：賴美君）
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