當一個政治人物被投票否決，但仍掌權直至任期結束，我們稱之為 'lame duck 跛腳鴨' 。隨著拜登贏得選舉，川普現在可說是 'lame duck' 總統。

When a politician has been voted out, but is still in power now until the date when his term ends, we call them a 'lame duck'. With Biden winning the election, Trump is now a 'lame duck' president.

' Lame 跛足/瘸 ' 這個字意指動物的腳或翅膀損傷，以致不良於行或無法飛翔 - 因此顯得脆弱無用，無法正常活動。這句話起源於倫敦證卷交易所，意指無法償還債務的股票經紀人 (因而顯得無能)。不過，為什麼是鴨子？而不是羊或鵝？你和我的想法一樣…，不過鴨子有些滑稽的地方 ( 可能是牠們發出的聲音？) 在英國，我們經常使用 'lame 跛腳 / 蹩腳' 這個俚語，來形容一些拙劣差勁的東西。( 如 : 'that movie was so lame 那部電影實在太廢了！' ) 。

The word 'lame' means an animal that has a leg or wing broken and so cannot walk or fly - it is therefore vulnerable and useless, unable to function properly. The phrase originated in the London Stock Exchange to mean a stockbroker who could not pay their debts (and so was useless). Why duck, not sheep or goose? Your guess is as good as mine - but there is something funny about ducks (maybe the sound they make?). In slang, we often say 'lame' in England to mean something rubbish (like: 'that movie was so lame!').

因此，川普的任期直至一月，然而他真的會是 ' lame duck 跛腳鴨 '嗎 ? 可能會是具備殺傷力的跛腳鴨。如今他仍是總統，若他決定當個小心眼、毫無器量的人 ( 他的確就是這樣的人 )，還是可以造成很大的損害。他已經開始開除他的執政團隊。我們將會看到這個跛腳鴨接下來要做的事。他當然不可能專注抗疫，而是全力以赴對選舉過程挑起法律爭端。

So Trump is still in power until January. But is he really a 'lame duck'? Perhaps a lame duck with teeth. He is still president, and if he decided to be petty (which he is) could still do a lot of damage. He has already begun firing members of his administration. We shall see what this lame duck does next. He is certainly not focused on fighting coronavirus - putting all his energy instead into trying to mount legal challenges to the election process.

可以看到歐巴馬在總統任期結束時，談到自己成為 ‘lame duck 跛腳鴨’… 。

Watch Obama talking at the end of his presidency about being a 'lame duck'...