n. a hopeless or worthless thing or person. : The whole play began to wash out during the second act. It was a lost cause by the third.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
lost cause
A hopeless undertaking, as in Trying to get him to quit smoking is a lost cause. In the 1860s this expression was widely used to describe the Confederacy. [Mid-1800s] Also see losing battle.
