last legs

L

last legs (idiom)
/ˌlæst ˈlɛɡz/

Meanings

• Extremely weak, tired, or about to collapse.
• Near the end of usefulness or functionality; close to failure.
• Approaching death or final stage of life.

Synonyms: worn-out; failing; feeble; near collapse; spent; near death.

Example Sentences

1. After hiking all day in the heat, Sarah was on her last legs and could barely keep moving.
2. That old computer is on its last legs and might break down anytime.
3. The injured horse was sadly on its last legs, and the vet said it couldn’t be saved.
4. My old phone is at its last legs; the battery won’t hold a charge anymore.

Origin and History

The phrase “on its last legs,” meaning close to collapse or exhaustion, arises from vivid human observation and metaphor. At its core, it conveys the image of a weary figure whose physical support has nearly failed, symbolizing the exhaustion of strength or resources. Some interpretations also connect it to financial distress, likening a failing body to a bankrupt estate standing on its final, fragile supports. Others suggest natural analogies, such as an injured insect clinging to survival with its remaining limbs. Though varied, these perspectives converge on a central theme: the fragility of endurance and the inevitability of decline.

Etymological Foundations

The idiom’s roots lie in early modern English, where expressions like “upon his last legs” depicted a precarious stance at the brink of failure. Here, “legs” extended beyond their literal meaning to signify the foundations of strength—physical, financial, or existential. Over time, the phrase shifted from literal bodily weakness to a figurative shorthand for collapse, reflecting a common linguistic pattern in English: grounding abstract peril in concrete imagery. Remarkably, the wording has remained stable, preserving its early form across centuries.

Historical Evolution

In its earliest usage during the seventeenth century, the phrase primarily described human frailty, often in contexts of mortality or imminent ruin. By the eighteenth century, it expanded into economic language, equating financial exhaustion with physical collapse. The nineteenth century saw further extension to inanimate subjects—machinery, institutions, or artifacts—capturing the notion of obsolescence and decline. This adaptability, from personal to systemic contexts, illustrates the idiom’s resilience and its ability to mirror shifting social concerns: from the vulnerability of the individual to the fragility of structures and systems.

Country of Inception

The idiom originated in England, where seventeenth-century literary and print culture fostered its emergence. The English vernacular of the time favored earthy, bodily metaphors, particularly in drama and pamphlet literature. Unlike some idioms with cross-linguistic parallels, “on its last legs” appears to be uniquely English in origin, with no evidence of equivalent contemporaneous expressions in other languages.

Earliest Printed Attestation

The earliest known printed appearance dates to a 1614 pamphlet, Horrible Creuel & Bloudy Murther by I. T., which declares:

“The doating World limping on hir last legges.”

In this instance, the phrase embodies cosmic exhaustion, portraying the world itself as a decrepit figure nearing collapse. This dramatic usage reflects the pamphlet’s blend of moral warning and vivid rhetoric, situating the phrase firmly within the cultural and literary practices of early seventeenth-century England.

Body, Death, End, Failure