dead in the water

1. Unable to function or move; inoperable. For example, Without an effective leader, our plans for expansion are dead in the water. Originally referring to a crippled ship, this colloquialism was soon applied more broadly.

Example Sentences

In multiple rounds of blacklisting, the Biden administration crippled the logistics, shipping and financing ecosystem around the natural-gas facility known as Arctic LNG 2, publicly aiming to leave it “dead in the water.”

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Without AI, the U.S. economy would be dead in the water, according to Jason Furman of Harvard External link, a former head of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama.

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Measures targeting Beijing's tech industry may slow China but won't "stop it dead in the water," said Prof McDonagh.

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More of this and Scotland's World Cup hopes will be dead in the water, if not in Group C but in the play-offs.

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“Now those civil cases are dead in the water, because you have an arsonist,” said Neama Rahmani, president of the L.A.-based law firm West Coast Trial Lawyers, which is handling Eaton fire cases against Edison.

Read more on Los Angeles Times