From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe dead in the waterbe dead in the waterinformal if a plan or idea is dead in the water, it is unlikely to continue successfully → dead
Examples from the Corpus
be dead in the water• I think you should admit that the government's plans for higher education are now dead in the water.• Their election campaign now appears to be dead in the water.• We are dead in the water, heading into a light wind and surface current.• They're saying that the democratic campaign is dead in the water just two days after its launch. 