Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
lame duck en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Equivalent to lame + duck. First use appears c. 1761, in the London Evening Post. Derived from the situation in which a person who had defaulted in the London Stock Exchange was said to waddle out of Exchange Alley like a lame duck. Verbal form first appears c. 1910.
Meanings
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(colloquial) A person or thing that is helpless, inefficient, or disabled.
A few days after our dinner at the Albion, Glover's city speculations, in spite of his unceasing attention in watching the marker, went altogether wrong, and the poor fellow waddled away from Chapel Court a defaulter, or as the stock-brokers emphatically called it, a lame duck.
1825, Ned Clinton; or The Commissary, page 186:Thus is happens, that, when a considerable loss arises from such contract, the principal on whole behalf it was made, refuses to fulfil it; in this case, the loss falls upon the broker, without remedy; and if he does not fulfil the contract in default of his prinicipal, he foreits his credit and business, and becomes, in the cant of the Alley, a lame duck.
1763 January, anonymous author, The Gentleman's and London Magazine, page 288:Reflecting on this in our 800th issue seven years ago, RAIL said the broad government view in 1981 was that BR [British Rail] was a lame duck.
2024 January 10, Howard Johnston, “Launched for enthusiasts - now it's for everyone”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 28:
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(US) An elected official who has lost the recent election or is not eligible for reelection and is marking time until leaving office.
This is a lame duck administration, and if it is going to pass out political favors worth multimillions of dollars per year, it must move.
1968 October 3, Congressional Record, page 29513, column 2:The “lame duck” Johnson Administration, in its final fortnight in office, grappled last week with a diplomatic hot potato in the form of the latest Soviet proposal for a “just and lasting” Middle East peace settlement.
1969 January 12, Benjamin Welles, “A Hot Potato for Nixon”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:Congressman Jones was a lame duck and did not vote on many issues that were important to his constituents.
So it is quite possible that there will be a Biden bounce in the last six months of his presidency, even if he is a lame duck. The question is, what will he do with it?
2024 July 22, Ed Pilkington, “Can lame duck Joe Biden give legs to Harris campaign in final six months?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
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(dated, slang) A person who cannot fulfill their contracts.
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A server that continues to serve ongoing requests while refusing new ones, allowing for graceful shutdown.
Forms
Synonyms
duck
wikipedia: London Stock Exchange · wikipedia: Exchange Alley · wikipedia: London Evening Post
lame duck en · VERB
Pronunciation
Etymology
Equivalent to lame + duck. First use appears c. 1761, in the London Evening Post. Derived from the situation in which a person who had defaulted in the London Stock Exchange was said to waddle out of Exchange Alley like a lame duck. Verbal form first appears c. 1910.
Meanings
-
(informal, intransitive, transitive) To behave in the manner of a lame duck.
Forms
Relateds
dead duck · sitting duck · dead man walking
Translations (56)
pl niedorajda (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · ru бедола́га (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · de lahme Ente (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · cmn 瘸鴨 /瘸鸭 (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · ar الْبَطَّةُ الْعَرْجَاءُ (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · ja レイムダック (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · az topal ördək (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · fi rampa ankka (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · pt pato manco (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · ko 레임 덕 (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · ru хрома́я у́тка (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · pl nieudacznik (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · pl ofiara (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · pl nieudacznica (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · pl ofiara losu (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · el κουτσή πάπια (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · de scheidender Amtsinhaber (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · fr canard boiteux (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · sv lame duck (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · hu béna kacsa (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · he בַּרְוָז צוֹלֵעַ \ ברווז צולע (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · it inetto (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · ru неуда́чник (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · th เป็ดง่อย (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · sv stackare (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · eo lama anaso (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · ru несча́стненький (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · lt šluboji antis (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · lmo ànedra zòppa (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · uk кульга́ва ка́чка (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · cmn 跛腳鴨 /跛脚鸭 (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · sv haltande anka (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · ja 役立たず (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · pl kulawa kaczka (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · cs mrzák (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · cs neschopný člověk (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · cs dosluhující politik (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · tr topal ördek (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · it anatra zoppa (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · it brocco (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · bg неуда́чник (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · it incapace (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · fr boulet (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · fi siipirikko (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · cs chromá kachna (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · cs chudáček (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · ja 死に体 (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · sv vekling (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · ko 임기말 증후군 (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · fr canard boiteux (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · ja レームダック (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · es pato rengo (an official who is marking time until leaving their office) · ru бедня́га (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · cs chudák (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · ru неуда́чница (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled) · sv krake (a person or thing that is helpless, inefficient or disabled)
wikipedia: London Stock Exchange · wikipedia: Exchange Alley · wikipedia: London Evening Post