Fortune to secure a medicine? One’s ineffective (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
lame duck
'one's ineffective' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'fortune to secure a medicine?' is the wordplay.
'fortune' becomes 'luck' (synonyms).
'to secure' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters are secured inside).
'medicine?' becomes 'med' (as in the informal term 'meds').
'a'+'med'='amed'
'luck' placed around 'amed' is 'LAME DUCK'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lame duck that I've seen before include "Someone no longer able to perform effectively" , "Ineffective government can be a limping water-bird" , "Powerless person" , "Inefficient or helpless person" , "Ineffectual type" .)