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Here is the conversation:

A: I like software testing “QA”, it's my language

B: so you like ducks

Does A mean that B is like a sitting duck https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/like+a+sitting+duck or is it something else? Is it insulting or positive or negative?

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  • @Damila has provided an interesting answer. The only thing I could think of that might fit was "getting one's ducks in a row."
    – Richard Kayser
    Jul 6, 2020 at 16:11
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    You guys quack me up!
    – Hot Licks
    Jul 6, 2020 at 16:45

1 Answer 1

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Appropriately, this site grew out of a site for computer programmers (of which I am not one, not even close).

It is a reference to rubber duck debugging

In software engineering, rubber duck debugging is a method of debugging code. The name is a reference to a story in the book The Pragmatic Programmer in which a programmer would carry around a rubber duck and debug their code by forcing themselves to explain it, line-by-line, to the duck.

It is not negative. Neutral to sharing a friendly joke.

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    It's not a pun on pronouncing QA as quack?
    – Yosef Baskin
    Jul 6, 2020 at 16:10
  • @YosefBaskin It could be I guess. You would have to ask B. In American English (I just don't know about others) the beginning of Quality Assurance would be pronounced like "kwah" or "kwahl" whereas the duck quack would be pronounce "kwak" (rhymes with back). So I would not think of that.
    – Damila
    Jul 6, 2020 at 16:17
  • @yosef it is also an answer, I guess :)
    – paul
    Jul 6, 2020 at 16:19
  • @YosefBaskin Clever thought, but I have never heard anyone pronounce QA as other than "Q" followed by "A". No ducks involved.
    – Richard Kayser
    Jul 6, 2020 at 23:00

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