撐不住、需要人扶的一方
這一組最貼近字面：那隻跛腳鴨就是走得動、但走不遠的那一個。
noun · B2
A person, company, or organization that is in trouble and cannot keep going without help from someone else.
撐不下去的人或公司
核心畫面
A duck that cannot fly and can only waddle. It is still with the group, but it cannot keep up, and anyone watching can see it will not get far on its own. English hangs that picture on a person, a business, or an office-holder who is still there in name but can no longer move under their own power.
lame duck 可以想成一隻飛不起來、只能一拐一拐走路的鴨子。牠還跟著隊伍，但跟不上；旁邊的人一眼就看得出，牠自…更多收起
lame duck 可以想成一隻飛不起來、只能一拐一拐走路的鴨子。牠還跟著隊伍，但跟不上；旁邊的人一眼就看得出，牠自己走不遠。英文把這個畫面掛在人、公司、機構或官員身上：東西還在，位子還在，力氣沒了。所以這個詞幾乎都帶著一個沒說出口的下半句——再這樣下去，得靠別人，或者就到此為止。From the word’s history
Wiktionary records the phrase from about 1761 in London: a trader who could not pay what he owed was said to waddle out of Exchange Alley like a lame duck. The money use came first, and what spread from it was the picture of someone who can no longer keep up.
維基詞典記載這個說法大約在 1761 年的倫敦出現：在交易所付不出錢的人，被說成像跛腳鴨一樣一拐一拐地走出交易巷。先有這個賠錢的用法，後來留下來、擴散出去的，是「跟不上、走不遠」這個畫面。
Wiktionary, entry 'lame duck' (packet source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:787575508:10797)
Three branches
任期快到、使不上力的位子
官員沒有受傷，是時間把他的力氣拿走了：位子還在，但大家已經繞過他去找下一任，跟跟不上隊伍的鴨子是同一個畫面。
noun · B2
An elected official who is still in office but is leaving soon, either because they lost the election or because they cannot stand again, and who is mostly just waiting out the time that is left.
快卸任的官員
系統裡正在收尾的機器
工程師借走同一個畫面：這台機器不是壞了，是被設定成只做完手上的事、不再接新的，所以它還在動，但已經走到最後一段。
noun · C1
In computing, a server that has been told to stop taking new requests but keeps finishing the ones it has already started, so it can be shut down without cutting anyone off.
只收尾不接新請求的伺服器