short tenure; lame duck official
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
an official with only five days left in office; a metaphor for holding a position for a very short time or being about to leave office
literaryOriginates from a Han Dynasty story about Zhang Chang (张敞), who was about to be dismissed as Jingzhao Yin (Governor of the Capital). His subordinate refused to handle cases for him, saying he only had five days left in office. Used to describe someone whose authority is temporary or ending.
Tā他
zì自
zhī知
shì是
wǔ五
rì日
jīng京
zhào兆
，
biàn便
bù不
zài再
chā插
shǒu手
xīn新
àn案
。
Knowing he was a short-timer, he stopped handling new cases.
Jì既
rán然
yǐ已
shì是
wǔ五
rì日
jīng京
zhào兆
，
shéi谁
hái还
yuàn愿
yì意
tīng听
tā他
diào调
qiǎn遣
？
Since he was about to leave office, who would still be willing to take orders from him?
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Zhè这
zhǒng种
wǔ五
rì日
jīng京
zhào兆
de的
xīn心
tài态
，
ràng让
tā他
duì对
gōng工
zuò作
fū敷
yǎn衍
le了
shì事
。
This 'lame duck' mentality made him perfunctory about his work.