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Reader question: Please explain “nonstarter” as in this sentence: Repealing Obamacare is a nonstarter... My comments: Many Americans, particularly rich republicans don’t like Obamacare, the new health care law championed by US President Barack Obama, who is a Democrat. They think Obamacare gives too much free benefits to the poor. Hence, some republicans are proposing that the new law be repealed. Or, in other words, revoked, rescinded, declared null and void. However, that kind of proposal is deemed a nonstarter, something doomed to fail. Enough American politics. Let’s focus on the word nonstarter, or preferably non-starter for it is formed that way. Non-starter, you see, is literally not a starter. Starter is a term widely used in many sports. Let’s take the game of basketball for instance. The game of basketball is played five on five, i.e. five against five, five on each side. And the players who are on court at the beginning of the game are called starters, as against bench players who begin the game seated on the bench along the sidelines. The starters, also called the starting five, are usually the best players on the team, barring injuries and so forth. They’re more skilled than the bench players, whose job is to replace the starters to give them a breather during the course of the game. Coaches play their best players at the beginning of games in order to, obviously, get off to a good start and set the tone. Put one’s best foot forward, in other words. | 
