be dead in the water 你是不是会直接翻译成“死在水里”。字面意思没有错，但是引申义可不是这样啦。be dead in the water的意思更接近于一潭死水，表示“败局已定的、胎死腹中，无成功希望”，用在比较绝望无助的语境。 If something is dead in the water, it has failed and it seems impossible that it will be successful in the future. 沉沦，一蹶不振 So how does a government revive an economy that is dead in the water? 那么政府怎样才能使一蹶不振的经济起死回生呢?