non-starter

noun

Etymology

From non- + starter.

  1. derived from *(s)ter-✻ — “to be stiff”
  2. inherited from *sturtijan✻ — “to startle, move, set in motion”
  3. inherited from styrtan — “to leap up, start”
  4. inherited from sterten — “to leap up suddenly, rush out”
  5. suffixed as starter — “start + er”
  6. prefixed as non-starter — “non + starter”

Definitions

  1. Someone or something who was listed to start in a race, but did not start in the race.

  2. Something that is destined to fail from the outset

    Something that is destined to fail from the outset; an impractical scheme.

    • Whatever is decided, it is clear that Crossrail 2 must be regarded as a non-starter for the foreseeable future.
  3. An idea or argument that cannot be sensibly debated.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for non-starter. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA