Lame duck

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The metaphorical phrase lame duck was originally coined in the 18th century at the London Stock Exchange, to refer to a broker who defaulted on his debts.[1][2] The first known mention of the term in writing was made by Horace Walpole, in a letter of 1761 to Sir Horace Mann: "Do you know what a Bull and a Bear and Lame Duck are?"[3]

Today, lame duck can refer to

Politics

• Lame duck (politics), an elected official who has lost a re-election or who did not seek re-election, but continues to hold office in between the time of the election and the time of the inauguration of the successor.
• Lame duck session is when the United States Congress (or only one chamber thereof) meets following the November general elections (and before the inauguration of the next Congress) to consider various items of business. Some lawmakers who return for this session will not be in the next Congress. Hence, they are informally called "lame duck" elected officials participating in a "lame duck session". Such officials may do things they would not otherwise do if they were planning to face the voters.
• Lame Duck Amendment, an informal name for the 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution, enacted in 1933, which establishes some details of presidential succession and changed the dates of the beginning and ending of the terms of elected federal officials, thereby reducing the length of terms of lame duck officials.

Entertainment

• Lame Duck, a punk/rock/pop band from Finland.
• The Lame duck (tango), a position in tango.
• A lame duck is a player in a game that cannot win yet remains in the game.
• The Lame Ducks, a Norwegian ska punk band.
• The Lame Duck Pub Quiz, a weekly general knowledge quiz podcast set in an English pub, hosted by Jeremy Nicholas.