sitting lame duck

This one is sourced from the Washington Post’s letters to the editor on May 1, 2024: “Maryland Democrats cannot afford to be waiting like a sitting lame duck.”  Opinion | The sky-high stakes of the Maryland Senate race – The Washington Post 

This is a mashup of “sitting duck” (easy to attack or take advantage of) and “lame duck” (in politics, an elected official whose successor has already been elected or will be soon). Kudos to Barry Eigen for spotting this one in the letters to the editor wilds. As Barry aptly points out, “you’d expect a lame duck to need to sit, so it’s kind of logical”. That Barry, he’s a real wise quacker.