Wiktionary
n. (context idiomatic English) An attempt at humor which is perceived to have been used previously to the point of being cliche, or was never funny to begin with.
Usage examples of "lame joke".
I made the lame joke to try to think about something besides how terribly my head was going to hurt when Murphy helped me up.
He was distracted by his own voice making some totally lame joke about Wilson the Volleyball in Castaway deserving the best supporting Oscar.
Her friends all exploded into laughter at her lame joke, one I'd heard in various forms for three or four years now.
And there is no lame joke in there, like a painting of potatoes, as though I were returning the barn to potatoes, or a painting of the Virgin Mary wearing a derby and holding a watermelon, or some such thing.
I would have been more convincing if the family hadn't broken into hysterics at Ssaroth's lame joke.