lame-duck
/ˌleɪm ˈdʌk/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌleɪm ˈdʌk/ (ame, ipa)
lame-duck — noun
1. a politician or government still holding office after a successor has been chose
a politician or government still holding office after a successor has been chosen, with little remaining power to push through new decisions — for example, a US president in the weeks between losing the November election and the January handover.
After Rodrigo lost the November election, he served three months as a lame-duck mayor.
predicate noun: serve as a lame-duck [office-holder]
The lame-duck governor signed dozens of pardons during her final week in office.
attributive: lame-duck + [political role]
Congress rushed several bills through the lame-duck session before the new senators arrived.
As a lame duck, Christopher could not convince his own party to back the proposal.
After Elena's cabinet quit, reporters called her a lame duck before the snap election.
- incoming
describes the successor about to take office
- president-elect
specifically the elected successor before the handover
文法句型
a lame-duck [president / governor / administration]
用法筆記
Common in American political reporting. The phrase covers the whole stretch from when the successor is decided until the handover — including a sitting president, governor, or legislature whose replacement has already been elected. Often appears attributively (lame-duck session, lame-duck administration).
常見錯誤
2. a person, company, or project seen as weak or struggling, unable to function wel
a person, company, or project seen as weak or struggling, unable to function well on its own and likely needing rescue or extra support — for example, a failing business that survives only because the government keeps lending it money.
Critics called the airline a lame duck that kept flying only because of state loans.
call X a lame duck
After touring the silent factory, Henrik dismissed it as a lame duck and walked away.
dismiss / treat X as a lame duck
The ferry company stayed a lame duck for years, surviving on city loans alone.
Hugo's startup turned into a lame duck after its biggest customer walked away.
Investors lost interest when the ferry project looked like a lame duck after costs doubled.
- loser
more informal and personal; lame duck applies more naturally to organisations and projects
- failure
broader; can describe a single event, while a lame duck implies an ongoing weak state
- underperformer
neutral business term; lame duck is harsher and suggests rescue is needed
- high-flyer
informal: a person or company doing very well
- success
general antonym; less colourful than lame duck
文法句型
a lame duck (of a person, company, or project)
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about commercial or general weakness (a failing firm, a project that needs propping up), while sense 1 is the narrow political sense (an office-holder whose replacement has been chosen). Often pejorative.