dead duck

The phrase "dead duck" is often used informally to describe a person, plan, or project that is doomed to fail or is beyond saving.

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🇬🇧 UK Voice:

Definition

B2General

(informal, idiomatic)A person or thing that has no chance of succeeding or recovering.

Example

After the scandal, the politician was considered a dead duck in the upcoming election.
The business plan was a dead duck from the start due to poor market research.

B2Project Management

(informal, idiomatic)A project or plan that is certain to fail.

Example

The new software launch is a dead duck because of numerous technical issues.

Similar

Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "dead duck":

duck call lame duck diamond duck mud duck duck walk dead as a dodo tree duck duck potato dead in the water dead bird dead meat dead fish domestic duck dead donkey duck's guts duck decoy duck hawk rubber ducked dead dove ducks on the pond dead stick rubber duck dead bat dead on arrival tits up milkshake duck duck fart broken bird dead water duck down ducks and drakes dead cat dead man walking dead pool dead money