- an ugly duckling
- someone or something that is ugly and not successful when they are young or new, but which develops into something beautiful and successful.
The most successful company was last year's ugly duckling.
New idioms dictionary. 2014.
an ugly duckling
Look at other dictionaries:
Ugly Duckling (hip hop group) — Ugly Duckling is a hip hop group that formed in 1993 in Long Beach, California. Ugly Duckling s members are Dizzy Dustin, Young Einstein and Andy Cooper. The group s style is alternative hip hop, influenced especially by old school performers… … Wikipedia
Ugly Duckling — Al … Deutsch Wikipedia
ugly duckling — ugly ducklings N COUNT: usu sing If you say that someone, especially a child, is an ugly duckling, you mean that they are unattractive or awkward now, but will probably develop into an attractive and successful person. She was a shy, ugly… … English dictionary
Ugly Duckling Presse — [http://www.uglyducklingpresse.org/] is a nonprofit art publishing collective producing small to mid size editions of new poetry, translations, lost works, and artist s books. The Presse favors emerging, international, and “forgotten” writers… … Wikipedia
ugly duckling — An ugly duckling is a child who shows little promise, but who develops later into a real talent or beauty … The small dictionary of idiomes
ugly duckling — ► NOUN ▪ a person who turns out to be beautiful or talented against all expectations. ORIGIN from the title of one of Hans Christian Andersen s fairy tales, in which the ‘ugly duckling’ becomes a swan … English terms dictionary
ugly duckling — n. [from a story by ANDERSEN Hans Christian about a supposed ugly duckling that turns out to be a swan] a very plain child or unpromising thing that in time becomes or could become beautiful, admirable, important, etc … English World dictionary
ugly duckling — noun count someone who people think will never be attractive or successful but who becomes very attractive or successful as they get older … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
ugly duckling — noun an ugly or unpromising child who grows into a beautiful or worthy person • Hypernyms: ↑anomaly, ↑unusual person * * * noun, pl ⋯ lings [count] : a person or thing that is not attractive or successful but that is likely to become attractive… … Useful english dictionary
Ugly duckling theorem — The Ugly Duckling theorem is an argument asserting that classification is impossible without some sort of bias. It is named for Hans Christian Andersen s famous story of The Ugly Duckling. It gets its name because it shows that, all things being… … Wikipedia
ugly duckling — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms ugly duckling : singular ugly duckling plural ugly ducklings someone who people think will never be attractive or successful but who becomes very attractive or successful as they get older • Etymology: From a… … English dictionary
