lame duck

音標發(fā)音

Unpopular lame duck though he may be, Mr Bush will stay in office until January 2009.
盡管布什可能是一只不受歡迎的跛鴨，他將繼續(xù)高坐白宮直至2009年。
I reiterated my commitment to get the START treaty done during the lame duck session and I have communicated to Congress that it is a top priority.
奧巴馬說：“我重申了我的承諾，在瘸腳鴨國會會期期間完成批準削減戰(zhàn)略武器條約。我已經(jīng)與國會交流過，告知這是一項首要議程。
Peter Mandelson may have evoked memories of the Heath era when he insisted that the motor industry was "not a lame duck".
彼得·曼德爾森或許喚醒了人們對于“荒蕪時代”的回憶，當時他堅持稱汽車工業(yè)并不是“跛鴨子”（無望的）。

Congress holds a lame duck session after an election.
Mr.Calderon's term in office ends in two years. Some analysts see him as a "lame duck" president with a keen interest in support from Washington.

Now, we did that in December during the lame duck on the tax cut issue.
WHITEHOUSE: Presidential Press Conference on the 2012 Budget
The phrase "lame duck" itself came into use in the U.S. Congress in the early 1800s.
NPR: Lawmakers Have Full Plate for Lame-Duck Session

(UNSUCCESSFUL) an unsuccessful person or thing
(POLITICS) an elected official whose power is reduced because the person who will replace them has already been elected

If you refer to a politician or a government as a lame duck, you mean that they have little real power, for example, because their period of office is coming to an end.
If you describe someone or something as a lame duck, you are critical of them because they are not successful and need to be helped a lot.