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duck-legged

American  
[duhk-leg-id, -legd] / ˈdʌkˌlɛg ɪd, -ˌlɛgd /

adjective

  1. having legs that are unusually short.

    He crept up in a half-crouch that made him look duck-legged.


Etymology

Origin of duck-legged

First recorded in 1640–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We may picture him as a humid duck-legged little man, most terribly homesick, most tremendously lonely, most distressingly alien.

From From Place to Place by Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury)

"We didn't know you were aboard," said Mrs. Waterbury, a silly, duck-legged woman looking proudly uncomfortable in her bead-trimmed black silk.

From Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise by Phillips, David Graham

Think of a stoutish, stooping, duck-legged man, with a mountainous back, strongly suggestive of a bag of grist under his shirt, and you have him.

From The Man Who Stole A Meeting-House 1878, From "Coupon Bonds" by Trowbridge, J. T. (John Townsend)

"That's just because you're a duck-legged snipe," answered Gid wrathfully.

From Si Klegg, Book 5 (of 6) The Deacon's Adventures At Chattanooga In Caring For The Boys by McElroy, John

These were an excessively duck-legged animal, with well-formed bodies, full chest, broad backs, yielding a close heavy fleece of medium quality of wool.

From Domestic Animals History and description of the horse, mule, cattle, sheep, swine, poultry and farm dogs; with directions for their management, breeding, crossing, rearing, feeding, and preparation for a profitable market; also their diseases and remedies. Together with full directions for the management of the dairy. by Allen, Richard L.