Water off a ducks back and fall on deaf ears? Interchangeable or no?

"Criticism rolls off me like water off a duck's back." This means I don't pay attention to negative things others say or let it affect me. Ducks have waterproof feathers. "Cassandra's warnings to the people of Troy fell on deaf ears." This means nobody listened when the prophetess said the city would be destroyed.

Water off a ducks back = no big deal. No problem. Fall on deaf ears = someone says something but nobody is listening to them/won’t take what they said seriously Slip of the tongue = you misspeak or say something you didn’t want to say Who let the cat out of the bag = exclamation when someone has accidentally revealed a secret. These are all separate idioms and to my knowledge they are not related or interchangeable in any way.

They are not interchangeable. But, I cannot fully explain. Something falling on deaf ears can suggest ignoring or aloofneas. Water off a ducks back, which is actually my favourite idiom, I think suggests more a resilience and carefree aloofneas, unaffected. Falling on deaf hears, ignored, water off the ducks back, it was not ignored but it still is not affecting 😶‍🌫️ it's water off the ducks back, I love it. Falling on deaf ears suggests and ignoring thst is not present with the duck

“Water off a duck’s back” and to “fall on deaf ears” aren’t interchangeable because they have different meanings. Water off a duck’s back means you don’t let something (irritating or annoying or a problem) bother you. Just like a duck has feathers that repel the water. Similar idioms you could use are “roll with the punches” or you could also say that someone has “thick skin.” Look them up because they are similar. When something you say falls on deaf ears that means that the other person will not pay attention to what you say, usually intentionally, because they think they know better. Basically, your advice gets ignored. We use idioms so naturally because we’ve used them since childhood when we first started learning the language. I don’t really think about the meaning too deeply when I use them. I had to take a minute to think of good ways to explain the examples you gave. It’s like anything, the more you use it, the more natural it will feel and you’ll get to the point where you don’t really think about it.

Yeah, there can be several idioms to mean the same thing, people usually just choose one of them to use. “Water off a ducks back” is an older person thing, I dont personally use many idioms at all but theyre not super uncommon.

No, the two in your title are generally not interchangeable. "Water off a ducks back" refers to something that doesn't bother you in the least - like a duck getting wet (you know, they swim and stuff). "Fall on deaf ears" refers to something, typically a warning or useful information, being ignored. "A slip of the tongue" usually refers to a situation where you use the wrong words, sometimes affecting meaning - for example, if you accidentally said "Nice to beat you" instead of "Nice to meet you" or something. "Let the cat out of the bag" specifically refers to announcing a secret, usually to an audience or at a time when you're not meant to - for example, letting someone know that there is a surprise birthday party being planned for them.

I would say generally these mean the same thing from different perspectives. Water off a ducks back - not letting something negative bother you Fall on deaf ears - someone else isn't listening to you

To let the cat out of the bag is to reveal secret. A slip of the tongue is to say something you didn't mean to say. A slip of the tongue can reveal a secret, but usually it doesn't. If you try to say "master baker" but say "masturbator" you aren't revealing a secret.

Neither are widely used anymore. Falling on deaf ears is probably the more common of the two though. - water off a ducks back generally suggests that whatever negative thing is happening does not bother the person at all. - falling on deaf ears is used when the hearer is oblivious to or purposely ignoring what is being said.

Hmm… I think it’s possible to “let the cat out of the bag” via a “slip of the tongue” but they’re not interchangeable. To let the cat out of the bag is to reveal a secret, usually accidentally. “Spill the beans” is another fun idiom with the same meaning. I hear it more often than “let the cat out of the bag” where I live in the midwestern USA. A “slip of the tongue” is to misspeak. Now that might mean accidentally revealing a secret - “I accidentally mentioned Janine’s surprise party to her. I’m sorry! It was a slip of the tongue. I didn’t mean to let the cat out of the bag.” However, it can also just mean saying something incorrectly- “I’m going to see the Golden Gate Bridge in San Diego.” “You mean San Francisco?” “Whoops! Yes, I meant San Francisco.” (Like) water off a duck’s back isn’t a phrase I hear often where I live but other commenters said they use it, so it may be a regional difference. It means someone’s unaffected by something. The meaning will depend on what the “water” is. If someone is resilient, you might say, “He remained optimistic in the face of adversity - shaking off challenges like water off a duck’s back.” If the person doesn’t take good advice, that might mean they’re foolish or stubborn. There *are* circumstances where it could mean the same thing as “fall on deaf ears,” but not always. For example, you might say, “I tried to tell her to leave him, but my advice was like water off a duck’s back.” You could also say, I tried to tell her to leave him, but my advice fell on deaf ears.” That second version sounds better to me, but both make sense and like I said, I don’t use “water off a duck’s back” very often. To “fall on deaf ears” is for something to be totally ignored. “Warnings about climate change fell on deaf ears as temperatures continued to rise.” “We told her she should to use protection but our advice fell on deaf ears and now she has a two-year-old.”

The fact those two idioms are not in the least interchangeable is why generally it's not a good idea to use them unless you are very used to speaking and reading a language. Idiomatic language can very easily go wrong if you arent careful. Translating idioms from your own language and using them, even if you need to frame it with "as we say in X/my country" is usually a far better idea. People love hearing idioms from other countries and you won't be misapplying them, which is something so often done when people aren't exceptionally fluent

One of the biggest things with idioms is the context. Every region will have its own idioms that aren't used elsewhere. Whenever I travel to the Southern US, I hear all sorts of new phrases, and I just have to guess their meaning. As for the title: "Water off a duck's back" is more like not letting something bother a person and has a more positive connotation. A person carries on despite a negative message or incident. "The bully's words slid off him like water off a duck's back." "Falling on deaf ears" is more like the recipient of a message doesn't want to listen and has a negative connotation, like a warning being ignored. "The climate scientist's lecture fell on deaf ears at the Petroleum Producers Convention."

None of those idioms means the same thing. Slip of the tongue means you said something you didn't mean. Let the cat out of the bag means you told a secret you weren't supposed to. Water off a duck's back means an action is inconsequential, something that doesn't matter. Falls on deaf ears means what you're doing/saying doesn't matter BECAUSE the person/thing you're interacting with doesn't care about what you have to say They are not interchangeable in the slightest and have completely different meanings.

No. Water off a duck’s back describes you not letting something bother you. You just let it go. This implies effortless or natural nonattachment to a (typically hurtful) remark. I associate this phrase with ‘unflappable.’ Fall on deaf ears means somebody just doesn’t want to hear something and will not listen. This involves a concerted effort to disregard a remark. They don’t want to hear it and are not sympathetic to whatever appeals you’re trying to make. I associate this phrase with ‘obstinate.’

I think of idioms as how speakers of a language add more colour to what they want to say. It's just a choice or a habit that comes from hearing idioms and expressions around you. Interesting that people are stressing age can also play a part in what idioms are used.

Since everyone else has answered the first part, I’ll answer the second. Natives of any language have a lifetime of knowing idioms. It just makes sense to us as English speakers, and the same for idioms in other languages for native speakers. They’re, in my opinion, one of the hardest things to learn in another language because they are, by definition, illogical sentences. I don’t think there’s truly any way aside from being a native speaker that someone can ever fully comprehend a certain language’s idioms.

Falling on "deaf ears" means that whatever is being said might as well be spoken into an ear that is literally Deaf/unable to hear anything. Apparently, water moves off of ducks without any effort on their part. So, like water off a duck's back, means occurring quickly and without effort. There are two idioms my late father-in-law used to confuse: " I wasn't born yesterday," which means that you've lived long enough to gain knowledge, and are not as "ignorant" as a newborn. I didn't just fall off of the turnip truck"Apparently, this is especially used in the south when referring to someone who might be such a farmer living way out on the farm and never going far off the farm except when loading up their truck with turnips to take it into the city to sell them. Basically, a "country bumpkin". My late father-in-law used to say, "I didn't just fall off of the turnip truck yesterday!"sure do miss him!

"slip of the tongue" is *one way* you might let a cat out of a bag.   but there are other ways, so they're not exactly interchangeable.   slip is the how you did it; cat is the what you did.   slip of the tongue also doesn't have to mean giving away a secret.   it can be any small verbal mistake.   it's a slip of the tongue if I mean to yell at the cat and my mouth says my son's name instead.   or I give out my old phone number instead of my new one, or say "Versaille" when I meant "Marseille".  

No not at all. Water off a ducks back means something isn’t going to bother you or that you won’t let it. Fall on deaf ears means you will have no way to convince a person of something or change their mind. Slip of the tongue and cat out of the bag can however mean the same thing depending on context.

Slip of the tongue is a general idiom for accidentally misspeaking. Letting the cat out of the bag is used to say that you divulged some kind of secret or ruined a surprise, this can be accidental or intentional.

Others have explained the difference between "water off a duck's back" and "fall on deaf ears" already, so I'll focus on "slip of the tongue" and "let the cat out of the bag." To "let the cat out of the bag," there has to be something that needs to be kept secret, and if you say or do something that reveals the secret to somebody who isn't supposed to know it, that would let the cat out of the bag. You can do it on purpose or on accident. A "slip of the tongue" is any instance where you're trying to say one thing, but you accidentally say something that you shouldn't have instead. A slip of the tongue *can* end up with you letting the cat out of the bag, but it's not 100% of the time. If you're talking to someone, and if you stumble over your words and accidentally say something vulgar, for example, that could be a slip of the tongue- though a lot of people who say something vulgar and then have to pretend it was accidental like to call their usage of vulgarity a slip of the tongue. Somewhat related to both of these is the idiom "to let something slip." This idiom's meaning is a bit closer to "letting the cat out of the bag" than "slip of the tongue," where there's something you shouldn't reveal but you reveal some of it anyway. It's not fully "letting the cat out of the bag," but instead just revealing *part* of the big secret, and you can do it on purpose or on accident. If it *is* on accident, then it could also classify as a "slip of the tongue."

I can’t remember the last time I heard somebody say “water off a duck’s back.” I think it has become somewhat uncommon with the last few generations, at least here in America. But yeah other people have explained the question well

They're interchangable in *some* circumstances, not in others. "Water off a ducks back" applies to anything that *could* affect you (but doesn't). "fall on deaf ears" applies to communications (which you ignore). A bad review of your movie might be water off a ducks back, **and** fall on deaf ears. (You don't care, and you won't even listen to it.) Failing an exam might be water off a ducks back, but **not** falling on deaf ears. (You don't care. You've heard the result; you're aware of what happened, but choose to disregard it.) Being told to not smoke is **not** water off a ducks back, but might fall on deaf ears. (It was never going to affect you, because you're choosing to ignore it.)

Water off a ducks back means that it makes no difference. falling on deaf ears means they don't care. Also, these are REALLY old sayings and no one uses them. Slip of the tongue means you said a single word or two you didn't intend you, let the cat out of the bag means you told someone a secret. slip of the tongue might also be considered a Freudian slip. It's more instead of saying witch you said bitch or something. usually with a single sound or two off saying another word, usually more inappropriate.

Nobody under the age of 70 uses these. Don't bother.