Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) wore a hideous ducky tie quite a bit in How I Met Your Mother after losing a bet. The tie became a running gag in the later seasons of the CBS sitcom. The series, which first premiered in 2005, ran for nine seasons before coming to an end in 2014. The tie was featured in 9 episodes of the series despite Barney trying to avoid the punishment.

The ducky tie was originally owned by Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel). Even though he was a fan of the playful duck pattern, Barney hated it, claiming that it lacked style. Before the bet between Marshall and Barney was explained, the infamous tie was mentioned in the How I Met Your Mother season 7 premiere, “The Best Man.” In a flashforward to Barney’s wedding, he sought help from Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) in picking out a tie. Ted supported Barney’s choice before briefly mentioning the ducky tie before Future Ted assured viewers that the story would be explained later.

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The tie’s introduction arrived a few episodes later in the appropriately titled “Ducky Tie.” Barney kept making fun of Marshall’s tie while the group was at a teppanyaki restaurant. After claiming that he could do all of the techniques of the chef, Marshall made a bet with him. Because he failed, Barney was forced to wear the tie for an entire year — but that was just the start of Barney’s journey with the ducky tie.

Every Other Episode That Featured Barney’s Ducky Tie

  • Season 7, Episode 4 – “The Stinson Missile Crisis” – Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) was growing jealous that Barney was getting closer to a woman named Nora (Danneel Harris). Barney was seen wearing the tie throughout the episode as part of punishment from the previous episode.
  • Season 7, Episode 5 – “Field Trip” – Ted took his architecture class on a field trip to the new GNB offices in order to view a construction site. While on the field trip, they run into Barney who was wearing the ducky tie while addressing the students.
  •  Season 7, Episode 6 – “Mystery vs. History” – Barney was enlisted by Marshall and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) to help paint the bedroom of their baby soon to be born. The couple refused to learn the gender of their child but Barney, who was wearing the ducky tie, wanted them to open to envelop to see if it would be a boy or a girl.
  • Season 7, Episode 7 – “Noretta” – Barney looked forward to taking his relationship with Nora to the next level. He was shown wearing the ducky tie while at MacLaren’s Pub and on his date with Nora throughout the night.
  • Season 7, Episode 8 – “The Slutty Pumpkin Returns” – Robin discovered that Barney was one-quarter Canadian and tried to force him into wearing a Mountie costume during the rooftop Halloween party. Instead, Barney arrived wearing an Apollo Creed costume and had the ducky tie wrapped around his. upper arm.
  • Season 7, Episode 9 – “Disaster Averted” – Barney was preparing to meet Nora’s parents and wanted to get out of wearing the tie so he could make a good impression. Marshall agreed to allow him to stop wearing it in exchange for three more slaps added to the “slap bet.”
  • Season 7, Episode 22 – “Good Crazy” – Marshall was going a bit crazy preparing for fatherhood so Lily set up an Atlantic City trip for him and Barney. While at the casino, Barney offered to wear the ducky tie again if Marshall agreed to and drink 100 tequila shots and turn off his phone for one hour.
  • Season 7, Episode 23 – “The Magician’s Code – Part One” – While Marshall and Barney were partying in Atlantic City, Lily went into labor. Barney, who was still wearing the ducky tie, did everything in his power to get Marshall in time to see the birth of his son. Because of his help, Marshall and Lily agreed to name their child, Marvin “Wait-for-it” Eriksen.
  • Season 7, Episode 24 – “The Magician’s Code – Part Two” – Now with Quinn (Becki Newton), Barney arrived home to his apartment and found that she re-decorated the place. Since it was a continuation from the previous episode, this was the last time the ducky tie was seen in How I Met Your Mother.
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Kara Hedash
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Kara Hedash is a features editor and writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world’s most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara’s not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty.

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