ugly duckling
noun /ˌʌɡli ˈdʌklɪŋ/
/ˌʌɡli ˈdʌklɪŋ/
- a person or thing that at first does not seem attractive or likely to succeed but that later becomes successful or much admiredTopics Successc2Word OriginFrom the title of a story by Hans Christian Andersen, in which a young swan thinks it is an ugly young duck until it grows up into a beautiful adult swan.