abortion abortive attempt also-ran aspirant baby kisser bankrupt blank cartridge bogy bomb bugaboo bugbear bust candidate castrato cipher cry of wolf dark horse defeated candidate dummy eunuch failure false alarm favorite son flop gelding hollow man hopeful impotent incompetent invalid jackstraw lame duck lay figure lemon loser man of straw merry chase miscarriage miscarrying misfire nebbish nobody nonentity nothing nullity office seeker political hopeful presidential timber puppet pushover running mate stalking-horse thing of naught trifle vain attempt washout weakling wet squib wild-goose chase zero