on one's beam ends

== English == === Etymology === By analogy with a capsizing ship; see usage note at beam-ends. === Prepositional phrase === on one's beam ends (UK, dated) In a parlous or destitute state. === Further reading === “be on your beam ends”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present. “on one’s beam ends”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.