A lame duck

　　处于困境无法自理的人、组织或事物

　　【世博精解】

　　a lame duck从字面意思上理解是“一只瘸腿的鸭子”。Lame means unable to walk normally because of an injury or defect，瘸的，跛的。

　　其实它还隐含着另外一层意思：It refers to a person, organization or thing that is in difficulties and unable to manage government without help，表示处于困境无法自理的人、组织或事物。

　　我们来看例句：

　　The government should not waste money supporting lame duck.

　　政府不应浪费资金去扶持那些无望的企业。

　　Lame duck also means elected official in his final period of office，(任期将满的)官员。例如：a lame duck President，即将卸任的总统。