one foot in the grave
Death is near
One foot in the grave describes someone who is very old, seriously ill, or otherwise close to death.
The image suggests a person so near the end of life that they've already begun the descent into burial.
It's often used with dark humor or gentle exaggeration: He's got one foot in the grave but still insists on mowing his own lawn.
The phrase can also describe something outdated or dying out: That technology has one foot in the grave.
- kicking the bucketSlang for perishing
- pushing up daisiesEuphemism for being dead
- knocking on heaven's doorNear death's threshold
- not long for this worldExpected to die soon
- decrepitudeWornness from age
on death's door · senescence · twilight years · golden years · resignation · expiration · terminal illness · fading away · winding down · acceptance · hanging by a thread · morbidity · hospice care · last rites · final curtain · melancholy · over the hill · borrowed time
- declinedecline, in decline, decrease, downswing, on the decline
one foot in the gravealive and kicking
Healthy and active
full of life · alive and well · going strong · not going anywhere · immortal
one foot in the gravehale and hearty
In excellent health
in the pink · fit as a fiddle · robust · healthy as a horse · vigorous
one foot in the gravewet behind the ears
Naive and inexperienced
spring chicken · green · fresh-faced · newborn · bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
loneliness, oneness, footwear, footprint, footstep, footing, footwork, barefoot, underfoot