Macmillan Dictionary

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Unsuccessful person or thing

lost cause

noun

someone or something that will never succeed or improve

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

failure

noun

someone or something that has not achieved success

non-starter

noun

a person or an idea that has no chance of succeeding

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

second best

noun

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

cyberloafing

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

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wane

getting smaller, weaker, or less important

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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