To be in a desperate or dire situation; to be in extreme difficulties with no immediate solution, like a fish dying in a dried-up rut.
公司目前的资金周转非常困难，简直是枯鱼涸辙，急需外部投资。
The small business, struggling with dwindling resources, found itself in a situation akin to a dried fish in a dry rut, desperately needing a new strategy to survive.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
During the Warring States period, the philosopher Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou) used fables in his work 'Zhuangzi'. In the chapter 'Outer Things', he told a story:
While Zhuangzi was traveling, he heard a voice calling to him. He discovered a gudgeon fish in a dried-up carriage rut, on the verge of dying from lack of water. The fish begged for help.
Zhuangzi offered to fetch a cup of water to save it. The fish replied, 'I am a minister from the East Sea. How can a mere cup of water save me? What I need is the water from the sea to live.'
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