| 回天 | huí tiān | to reverse a desperate situation |  |
| 残局 | cán jú | endgame (in chess) / desperate situation / aftermath (of a failure) | |
| 燃眉之急 | rán méi zhī jí | lit. the fire burns one's eyebrows (idiom) / fig. desperate situation / extreme emergency |  |
| 火烧眉毛 | huǒ shāo méi mao | lit. the fire burns one's eyebrows (idiom) / fig. desperate situation / extreme emergency | |
| 不可终日 | bù kě zhōng rì | to be unable to carry on even for a single day / to be in a desperate situation | |
| 死马当活马医 | sǐ mǎ dāng huó mǎ yī | lit. to give medicine to a dead horse (idiom) / fig. to keep trying everything in a desperate situation | |
| 釜底游鱼 | jǐn dǐ yóu yú | a fish at the bottom of the pot (idiom) / in a desperate situation | |
| 死马当活马医 | sǐ mǎ dàng huó mǎ yī | lit. to give medicine to a dead horse (idiom) / fig. to keep trying everything in a desperate situation | |
| 釜底游鱼 | fǔ dǐ yóu yú | a fish at the bottom of the pot (idiom) / in a desperate situation | |
