non-starternoun [ C ]
uk/ˌnɒnˈstɑː.tər/us/ˌnɑːnˈstɑːr.t̬ɚ/informalan idea, plan, or person with no chance of success:
The proposal was a non-starter from the beginning because there was no possibility of funding.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Failures
- a dog's breakfast idiom
- another/the final nail in the coffin idiom
- breakdown
- car crash
- cock-up
- dead duck
- foul-up
- free fall
- hash
- lemon
- lost cause
- lulu
- mess
- mess-up
- parody
- slush pile
- track record
- train wreck
- turkey
- underachiever
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