What is the Origin of the Term 'Lame Duck'?

When newly elected U.S. presidents and Congress members take office in January, after being elected in November, there is often a period of transition. This creates an awkward gap for those leaving office, who have reduced influence and limited time to pass new policies. This situation often leads to them being called lame ducks, symbolizing that their power is waning and their time is nearly up.

It’s not entirely accurate to say that lame-duck politicians are powerless during this period. Without the need to secure re-election, they are free to make decisions that might not be popular with their constituents. However, while the term lame duck is now commonly used to describe any outgoing politician, regardless of whether they’re struggling to finish their term, it wasn’t always used this way. In fact, the phrase did not originate in politics at all.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known use of the term was in a letter by British noble Horace Walpole in 1761. He wrote, “Do you know what a Bull, and a Bear, and a Lame Duck are?” Walpole was referencing the London Stock Exchange, where lame duck described a bankrupt investor unable to pay their debts. A decade later, playwright David Garrick referred to the term in his prologue for Samuel Foote’s play The Maid of Bath: “Change-Alley bankrupts waddle out lame ducks!”

Throughout the 19th century, British citizens continued to use the term 'lame duck' when discussing the stock exchange. The phrase eventually gained popularity among American financiers as well. Soon after, the term spread into other areas. For instance, writer George W. Bungay appropriated it to criticize early temperance advocates who had lost faith in the movement.

In 1869, Bungay wrote, “In Wall Street, New York, we have a class of men known as ‘lame ducks': they have faced financial failures and cannot keep up with their more prosperous rivals. We also have lame ducks in our temperance groups, and I will briefly describe some who are unable and unwilling to progress with our cause. The lame ducks were once enthusiastic supporters of ‘the cause.’ When they tried to indulge in whisky, they became ‘dead ducks.’”

Though Bungay’s use of the term may have resonated with his temperance-minded readers, the phrase really began to gain traction in the political realm. According to The Phrase Finder, the term lame duck was first used to refer to “ineffective politicians” in 1863 by The Congressional Globe, and it soon started appearing in newspaper articles related to politics shortly thereafter.

In the early 1920s, the term lame duck made its way to the highest office in the land. A 1926 editorial from Michigan’s Grand Rapids Press, titled 'Making a Lame Duck of Coolidge,' speculated how the upcoming Senate elections might impact the final two years of Republican President Calvin Coolidge's term. If voters managed to swing the Senate to a Democratic majority—or at least make it more balanced—they could potentially render him powerless.

In this context, the term lame duck was no longer referring to the period between being elected (or re-elected) and assuming office, but it eventually became associated with that specific gap. Back then, presidential inaugurations were held in March, the same month the new congressional session began. The long wait between November and March led to numerous lame duck politicians, and Congress eventually decided to move the start of both congressional and presidential terms from March to January. The 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933, was even occasionally dubbed the 'lame duck amendment.' Though lame duck behavior may have lessened since then, the phrase itself continues to endure.