nonstarter

American  

[non-stahr-ter] / nɒnˈstɑr tər /

noun

1. an issue, plan, etc., that does not get or deserve to get under way.

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nonstarter British  

/ nɒnˈstɑːtə /

noun

1. a horse that fails to run in a race for which it has been entered

2. a person or thing that is useless, has little chance of success, etc

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Etymology

Origin of nonstarter

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Spending cuts are even more difficult than in Britain—where welfare cuts have proved to be a political nonstarter—and securing a budget at all in a deeply riven French Parliament is a challenge.

From The Wall Street Journal

This was of course wishful thinking as well as a political nonstarter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Later Friday, Thune rejected a proposal from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, with the Republican leader telling reporters that it’s a “nonstarter.”

From MarketWatch

Later Friday, Thune rejected a proposal from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, with the Republican leader telling reporters that it’s a “nonstarter.”

From MarketWatch

So the idea that companies are all going to double their sales, doubling real GDP per capita, in short order, is a nonstarter.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• bust
• debacle
• disaster
• dud
• fiasco
• washout