survival

• In over your head

  To be involved in a situation or task that is too difficult, complex, or overwhelming for you to manage.

• By the skin of your teeth

  To succeed or escape a difficult situation by the narrowest possible margin.

• Keep your head above water

  To manage to survive or stay out of serious difficulty, especially financially, in a challenging situation.

• Out of the woods

  To be free from danger, difficulty, or a critical situation, especially after a period of intense struggle.

• Tighten your belt

  To reduce spending and live more frugally due to financial difficulties or economic hardship.

• Up the creek without a paddle

  To be in a difficult or helpless situation with no apparent solution or means of escape.

• Keep the wolf from the door

  To earn just enough money to avoid extreme poverty, hunger, or destitution.

• Sleep with one eye open

  To remain extremely vigilant and cautious, even while resting, due to a sense of danger or unease.

• Sing for your supper

  To perform a service or use a skill in exchange for payment, food, or other necessities.

• Head for the hills

  To quickly escape a dangerous, difficult, or unpleasant situation, often by fleeing to a place of refuge.

• With your bare hands

  To accomplish something using only one's hands, without the aid of any tools, weapons, or other assistance.

• Saved my skin

  To help someone escape from a difficult, dangerous, or punishing situation.

• Keep body and soul together

  To earn just enough money or acquire barely sufficient resources to provide for one's basic needs and continue to live.

• A narrow escape

  A situation where someone avoids danger or a difficult outcome by a very small margin.

• A brush with death

  To experience a situation so dangerous that you almost die.

• To make a narrow escape

  To narrowly avoid danger, difficulty, or an undesirable situation.

• Kill or be killed

  This phrase describes a desperate situation where one must act ruthlessly and aggressively to ensure their own survival, otherwise they will be destroyed by an opposing force or circumstance.

• Sink or swim

  To succeed or fail entirely through one's own efforts, without any external help.

• Every man for himself

  This phrase describes a chaotic situation where individuals prioritize their own survival or interests over collective responsibility or cooperation.

• A lifeline

  Something that provides crucial help or support, especially in a difficult or dangerous situation.

• Defenseless

  Unable to protect oneself from attack or harm; completely vulnerable.

• Starving to death

  To suffer and ultimately die due to a prolonged and extreme lack of food.

• To dodge a bullet

  To narrowly escape a dangerous, difficult, or undesirable situation or consequence.

• A matter of life and death

  A situation that is extremely serious and critically important, often involving danger to life or significant consequences.

• Rescue

  To save someone or something from a dangerous, difficult, or harmful situation.