An article in Smithsonian magazine used a phrase I had not heard in a long time "to get your
ducks in a row", meaning to organize something in an advantageour way.
I finally found a site that said it originated in old time carnival attraction where you ahot
a twenty-two rifle at small moving metal targets that fell over when you hit them. One of the
targets was a line of life sized ducklings, and if none were down, it was easier to knock each
one down than in was if there were gaps in the line.
Anybody have an idea as to earliest date of this phrase?