have one foot in the grave

病入膏肓

In the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋時期，770-476 BC)， King Jing of the State of Jin (晉國) fell ill. And he heard that there was a doctor of exceptional skill， so he dispatched person to invite the doctor.

春秋時期，晉景公有一次得了重病，聽說秦國有一個醫(yī)術很高明的醫(yī)生，便專程派人去請來。

One night he dreamed that the disease turned into two little kids talking beside him.

有一晚，晉景公恍惚中做了個夢。夢見了兩個小孩，正悄悄地在他身旁說話。

One said， “I’m afraid the doctor will hurt us.”

一個說：“那個高明的醫(yī)生馬上就要來了，我看我們這回難逃了，我們躲到什么地方去呢?”

The other said， “Do not worry. We can hide above ‘huang’ and below ‘gao’. Then the doctor will be able to do nothing to us.”

另一個小孩說道：“這沒什么可怕的，我們躲到肓的上面，膏的下面，無論他怎樣用藥，都奈何我們不得。”

The next day， having examined the king， the doctor said， ‘Your disease is incurable， I am afraid， Your Majesty. It’ above huang and below gao， where no medicine can reach.’

翌日，秦國的名醫(yī)到了，立刻被請進了晉景公的臥室替晉景公治病。診斷后，那醫(yī)生對晉景公說：“這病已沒辦法治了。疾病在肓之上，膏之下，用灸法攻治不行，扎針又達不到，吃湯藥，其效力也達不到。這病是實在沒法子治了。”

The idiom indicates a hopeless condition.

這個成語意喻事情到了無可挽回的地步。

英文中“病入膏肓”可以說成“have one foot in the grave”，就是“一只腳在墳墓里”的意思，形容一個人已經(jīng)行將就木，病的很重。這個短語與中文一樣，可以引申指“事態(tài)很嚴重”，比如可以說“某國經(jīng)濟已經(jīng)病入膏肓”就可以說“……economy already has one foot in the grave”。