Idiom: a dead duck

[Mahboube]

English Idioms and Expressions, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #10 "Cats, Dogs and Ducks", question 4

I'm afraid he didn't take my advice and they made him look a complete fool because he was unrepared and he ended up a dead duck.

(a) a person with no feelings
(b) a person with no problems
(c) a person with no future
(d) a person with no ideas

English Idioms and Expressions, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #10 "Cats, Dogs and Ducks", answer 4

I'm afraid he didn't take my advice and they made him look a complete fool because he was unrepared and he ended up a person with no future.

Correct answer: (c) a person with no future
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a person with no future? is it the answer?

I appreciate ur reply

Mahboube

[Mahboubeh]

a person with no Idea? I didn't find this meaning in my Idiom Dictionary Sad may I have ur explanation... well... I know sometimes we shouldn't be fussy about Idioms...

I appreciate ur reply

[Torsten]

Hi mahboubeh,

Welcome to our forum. Yes, you got that answer right, a dead duck as a person with no future. I'm sure you are not a dead duck, are you?

Speak to you soon,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Yankee]

Hi Mahboubeh

Perhaps the expression "no future" is confusing you a bit?

Take a look here at definition 3 for the word future.

So, someone with "no future" has no good prospects. In other words, the person is doomed.
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=dead+duck

Amy

[Alan]

Hi,

It's worth noting that 'dead duck' can also refer to things as well as people. Ideas, schemes, plans that do not work can also be regarded as 'dead ducks'. In this country there was a proposal to make people who were behaving badly pay a fine of ?100 immediately. The idea was for a police officer to take the person to a cash machine and tell them to draw out ?100. Clearly this was a completely stupid and unpractical suggestion and never became law because it was 'a dead duck'.

A
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a policeman

[Torsten]

Hi Alan, why do you think this was a stupid idea? If a person is punished immediately after they have done something wrong, it might have quite a positive effect.
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TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Alan]

Hi Torsten,

In theory it sounds great but the practicality of it makes the mind boggle. Imagine our miscreant is behaving badly and probably drunk as well. Our police officer approaches him for the ?100 pounds and more than likely he's not walking around with that amount of cash and so he escorts him to a cash machine. Several problems arise. Where is the nearest cash machine? Does the miscreant have a bank account? Is there enough cash in his account if he has one to cover that amount? Does our miscreant remember his PIN? See what I mean?

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story In short

[Lost_Soul]

[Mahboubeh]

Amy. Alan, Torsten,
Thank you dears for each reply. it became crystal clear for me

Mahboubeh