Lame Duck
/ˌleɪm ˈdʌk/noun
A person or thing that is weak, ineffective, or nearing the end of a term and about to be replaced.
Did you know?The political sense of “lame duck” comes from 18th-century stock-exchange slang for a trader who couldn’t pay debts, turning weakness into a public label of vulnerability.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
lama
“lame; crippled; weak”
Middle English
ME
lame
“lame; disabled; weak”
18th Century
English
lame duck
“An insolvent stock trader unable to meet obligations”
19th Century
English
lame duck
“By extension, a person or enterprise that is ineffectual or failing”
Modern English
English
lame duck
“A weak or ineffective person, especially an officeholder nearing the end of a term”