A lame duck; an Exchange-alley phrase for a stock-jobber, who either cannot or will not pay his losses, or, differences, in which case he is said to waddle out of the alley, as he cannot appear there again till his debts are settled and paid; should he attempt it, he would be hustled out by the fraternity.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Duce * Ducks and DrakesNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes