What does "ugly duckling" mean?

It is from a children's story. This recording on YouTube has on-screen words you can read along or just listen if you want. [https://youtu.be/SEnLIaekdig?si=KOob2GTKSDfO8k8b](https://youtu.be/SEnLIaekdig?si=KOob2GTKSDfO8k8b) There are a few versions, this is not my favorite wording but the overall story is close enough; and more importantly it has words on-screen in case you have struggles with the accent. Basically, a duck had babies but did not realize that a swan egg was placed in her nest. The baby ducks and other animals teased the "ugly" duckling not realizing it would grow up to be a swan. It is a children's story to help children understand and appreciate differences and the ways people can change. When someone says "such and such is an ugly duckling" they are saying that thing or person was not normal in some way, but that they are still loved & appreciated and/or they grew up to be something far different from what everyone thought would happen.

It refers to somebody who doesn't look capable, but exceeds expectations. It's from a children's fairy story by Hans Christian Andersen. A duck has many duckings, and one of them looks strange. He's an outcast. Eventually it transpires that an egg was misplaced, and he's a beautiful swan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_Duckling

The ugly duckling is a children’s story. In the story a baby swan mistakenly gets mixed in with a pack of ducklings and gets raised thinking it’s a duck. The swan believes it is an “ugly duckling” because it doesn’t look like the other ducks. Then the ugly duckling finds a pack of swans and is realizes it is actually beautiful. You can read it online if you would like to dig deeper— it is one of the most popular children’s stories. Essentially an ugly duckling is someone who doesn’t fit in but has unexpected talents/beauty.

[The Ugly Duckling - Danny Kaye](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwqmlrVGa54)

It can mean someone who looks awkward growing up, and then (perhaps unexpectedly) attractive as an adult.

The original children's story was in Danish, so you will see a few different English translations around.

This is based on a children's book called, "The Ugly Duckling". It is about a duckling that was teased and picked on by the other ducks because it was very clumsy and ugly and didn't look much like them at all. But it grew into a beautiful swan because it wasn't a duck at all. So, calling someone an Ugly Duckling would indicate they were not very attractive as a child or young adult, but became much more attractive when they were older.

Why do people who have a decent grasp on the language not just google these ultra specific questions?