lame duck
| 1. | an elected official or group of officials, as a legislator, continuing in office during the period between an election defeat and a successor's assumption of office. |
| 2. | a president who is completing a term of office and chooses not to run or is ineligible to run for reelection. |
| 3. | a person finishing a term of employment after a replacement has been chosen. |
| 4. | anything soon to be supplanted by another that is more efficient, economical, etc. |
| 5. | a person or thing that is disabled, helpless, ineffective, or inefficient. |
| 6. | a person who has lost a great deal of money in speculations on the stock market. |
1755–65
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| lame duck n.
|
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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lame duck
A public official or administration serving out a term in office after having been defeated for reelection or when not seeking reelection.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lame Duck
A person who has defaulted on his or her debts or has gone bankrupted due to the stock market. The financial use of the term is most commonly used in Europe.
Investopedia Commentary
A trader or investor who makes poor trades and ends up with heavy losses over time would be considered a lame duck. Often, if a trader goes bankrupt, it is not the result of one bad trade but a long string of them - such a trader is called a lame duck because he or her is ineffective as a trader. (The term lame duck also refers to a politician who has chosen not to seek re-election, is ineligible to run for office again or has lost an election but is still in office until the election winner takes control of the office. The politician is considered a lame duck as he or she is not accountable to the constituency he or she represents.)
Related Links
Learning From Others' Mistakes
Seven Common Financial Mistakes
Betting The Ranch: Risking Your Home To Buy Securities
See also: Bankruptcy, Losing Your Shirt
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lame duck
An elected officeholder whose term of office has not yet expired but who has failed to be re-elected and therefore cannot garner much political support for initiatives. For example, You can't expect a lame duck President to get much accomplished; he's only got a month left in office. This expression originated in the 1700s and then meant a stockbroker who did not meet his debts. It was transferred to officeholders in the 1860s. The Lame Duck Amendment, 20th to the U.S. Constitution, calls for Congress and each new President to take office in January instead of March (as before), thereby eliminating the lame-duck session of Congress.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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