What does ducktail mean?
A ducktail is a men's hairstyle in which the hair is combed straight back from the forehead and shaped at the nape into a narrow, tapering point that supposedly resembles a duck's tail. The style flourished in the early to mid-1950s, particularly among young men associated with rock-and-roll culture, and it typically required liberal amounts of hair pomade or grease to hold the shape — hence the 'greaser' stereotype with which it remains linked. The look became an emblem of teenage rebellion, so much so that some schools and institutions discouraged it. In Britain the style was widely known by the cruder nickname 'duck's arse', often abbreviated simply as 'DA'. Today the word appears mostly in discussions of fashion history, retro styling, and period films, where the ducktail serves as an instantly recognisable visual shorthand for 1950s youth culture. It remains a vivid example of how a hairstyle can come to define an entire era.
nounA men's hairstyle, popular in the 1950s, in which the hair is combed back from the forehead and gathered into a tapering ridge at the back of the head that resembles a duck's tail. Also called a duck's arse or DA haircut.
- A men's hairstyle in which hair is combed back and shaped into a tapering point or ridge at the back, resembling a duck's tail; popular in the 1950s.
"He slicked his hair into a perfect ducktail before the school dance."
"With his leather jacket and immaculate ducktail, he looked like he'd stepped straight out of the fifties."
"The barber spent ten minutes shaping the young man's hair into a crisp ducktail."
The plural refers to multiple instances of the hairstyle, typically worn by different people; the word has no other common senses requiring a plural.
"The barbershop window displayed photographs of the era's most famous ducktails."
The ducktail was so defiantly greasy that schools in the 1950s banned it — and barbers gave it a cheekier British name: the 'duck's arse'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ducktail
The word ducktail is a transparent English compound formed from 'duck' and 'tail', describing the tapering tuft of hair at the back of the head that resembles the rear end of a duck. The term arose in American English during the early 1950s alongside the hairstyle itself, which grew out of earlier slicked-back styles such as the pompadour. A parallel British variant, 'duck's arse' (often shortened to 'DA'), emerged around the same time and reflects the same visual comparison more bluntly.
How ducktail is actually used
Informal register. Strongly associated with 1950s youth culture, rock-and-roll, and 'greaser' subcultures. In Britain it was often called a 'duck's arse' (or 'DA'), a name considered vulgar by some.
Easily confused with ducktail
A pompadour sweeps the hair up and back over the forehead for volume at the front, whereas a ducktail is defined by the tapered ridge of hair at the nape of the neck.