lame

«lame» in Mova's school dictionary: Unable to walk normally because of a hurt leg or foot… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (lame, lamer, lamest); verb (lame — rare)

meaning for a pupil

1) Unable to walk normally because of a hurt leg or foot (used mostly about animals, especially horses). tree →

2) (informal, slang) Boring, weak or not cool: «That joke is lame». tree →

3) A lame excuse is a weak one that no one believes. tree →

4) (Bible) Old word for people who cannot walk; Jesus healed the lame. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories a lame horse cannot carry its rider. Children use «lame» as slang for «boring» or «uncool». Using «lame» about a disabled person is old-fashioned and can be hurtful; say «has a limp» or «cannot walk». Phrases: «lame excuse», «a lame duck» (a weak leader or business), «so lame».

examples

• The horse went lame after it hurt its hoof. tree →
• «The dog ate my homework» is a lame excuse. tree →
• That film was so lame! (slang) tree →
• In the Bible story, Jesus made the lame man walk. tree →
• The President was a lame duck in his last months. tree →
• His jokes are lame but we laugh anyway. tree →
• Now I am lame for life! tree →

note

Comparative lamer, lamest. The slang meaning can hurt people with disabilities; be careful. Do not confuse with «lamé» (shiny fabric).

In the corpora

• Now Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet.
• And when ye offer the lame and sick, is it no evil!
• The legs hang limp from the lame; so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
• I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «lame» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.