flat on one's back

flat on one's back idiom
  1. Sick in bed. For example, The flu has put her flat on her back.
  2. Helpless, without recourse, defeated, as in I wish I could help but the recession has put me flat on my back.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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