Macmillan Dictionary

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Unsuccessful person or thing

failure

noun

someone or something that has not achieved success

also-ran

noun

someone who is not successful, especially someone who loses an election or competition

lame duck

noun

someone who is not successful and needs a lot of help and support

disaster

noun

something that is annoying or a failure, but is not really very bad

second best

noun

someone or something that is not what you wanted or is not as good as others

loser

noun

someone who has never been successful and is never likely to be

a spent force

someone or something that does not have the influence that they had in the past

dead duck

noun

something that will certainly fail

quitter

noun

someone who is likely to stop trying if they have problems or are not successful immediately

underachiever

noun

someone who is not as successful as they could be in work, school, etc.

cyberloafing

using the Internet where you work, during working hours, for activities which are not work-related

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neutrino

a particle that is smaller than an atom and has no electrical charge

Open Dictionary

show a bit of ankle

… to reveal a small part of your intentions in order to attract support, without actually committing yourself to doing anything

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