flat on one's back
Without recourse; helplessWithout recourse; helpless.
Meaning
2 senses(idiomatic, not comparable)Without recourse; helpless.
(not comparable)Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see flat, on, back.
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.