lame duck—
1. an officeholder who has been defeated for reelection or is not seeking reelection:
- Tony Blair made himself a lame duck by stating that he would not fight a fourth general election.
2. a person or thing considered as weak or unfortunate:
- I did find myself waiting for the end to come, which when it did was completely unfulfilling. This movie is just a lame duck with a loaded cast.
ugly duckling—an unpromising person or thing that becomes successful or admirable:
- In school I was an ugly duckling and a loner. Nobody believed I could ever be a great actress and singer except me.