"To duck a fade" — 'Tis when a man, though challenged to a contest of fists or honour, doth shy away and refuseth to meet his foe upon the field. He doth turn from strife, not out of prudence, but for fear or cowardice.
Or more poetically:
"When a knave is called to prove his mettle in combat, yet slippeth away like a craven cur, he hath ducked the fade."