Lame duck
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lame \Lame\ (l[=a]m), a. [Compar. {Lamer} (l[=a]m"[~e]r);
superl. {Lamest}.] [OE. lame, AS. lama; akin to D. lam, G.
lahm, OHG., Dan., & Sw. lam, Icel. lami, Russ. lomate to
break, lomota rheumatism.]
1.
(a) Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury,
defect, or temporary obstruction of a function; as, a
lame leg, arm, or muscle.
(b) To some degree disabled by reason of the imperfect
action of a limb; crippled; as, a lame man. "Lame of
one leg." --Arbuthnot. "Lame in both his feet." --2
Sam. ix. 13. "He fell, and became lame." --2 Sam. iv.
4.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence, hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect; as, a
lame answer. "A lame endeavor." --Barrow.
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O, most lame and impotent conclusion! --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
{Lame duck}
(a) (Stock Exchange), a person who can not fulfill his
contracts. [Cant]
(b) An elected politician who is completing a term after
having been defeated at an election; also, an office
holder who cannot or chooses not to run again for the
same office; -- So called from the presumed lack of
political power of one who is soon to be out of
office.
(b) Any office holder who is serving out a term after a
replacement has been selected.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Duck \Duck\, n. [OE. duke, doke. See {Duck}, v. t. ]
1. (Zool.) Any bird of the subfamily {Anatin[ae]}, family
{Anatid[ae]}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The genera and species are numerous. They are divided
into {river ducks} and {sea ducks}. Among the former
are the common domestic duck ({Anas boschas}); the wood
duck ({Aix sponsa}); the beautiful mandarin duck of
China ({Dendronessa galeriliculata}); the Muscovy duck,
originally of South America ({Cairina moschata}). Among
the sea ducks are the eider, canvasback, scoter, etc.
[1913 Webster]
2. A sudden inclination of the bead or dropping of the
person, resembling the motion of a duck in water.
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Here be, without duck or nod,
Other trippings to be trod. --Milton.
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{Bombay duck} (Zool.), a fish. See {Bummalo}.
{Buffel duck}, {Spirit duck}. See {Buffel duck}.
{Duck ant} (Zool.), a species of white ant in Jamaica which
builds large nests in trees.
{Duck barnacle}. (Zool.) See {Goose barnacle}.
{Duck hawk}. (Zool.)
(a) In the United States: The peregrine falcon.
(b) In England: The marsh harrier or moor buzzard.
{Duck mole} (Zool.), a small aquatic mammal of Australia,
having webbed feet and a bill resembling that of a duck
({Ornithorhynchus anatinus}). It belongs the subclass
Monotremata and is remarkable for laying eggs like a bird
or reptile; -- called also {duckbill}, {platypus},
{mallangong}, {mullingong}, {tambreet}, and {water mole}.
{To make ducks and drakes}, to throw a flat stone obliquely,
so as to make it rebound repeatedly from the surface of
the water, raising a succession of jets; hence:
{To play at ducks and drakes}, with property, to throw it
away heedlessly or squander it foolishly and unprofitably.
{Lame duck}. See under {Lame}.
[1913 Webster]
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
38 Moby Thesaurus words for "lame duck":
adventurer, also-ran, aspirant, baby kisser, bankrupt,
big operator, candidate, dark horse, defeated candidate, dud,
failure, favorite son, gunslinger, holdover, hopeful, incumbent,
ins, insolvent, insolvent debtor, jack-in-office, margin purchaser,
new broom, office seeker, office-bearer, officeholder, operator,
plunger, political hopeful, president-elect, presidential timber,
public official, public servant, running mate, scalper,
smart operator, speculator, stag, stalking-horse
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