轍てっ鮒ぷ

noun

person or thing in imminent danger; fish on the chopping board

A classical metaphor for someone or something in a desperate, life-threatening situation, like a fish in a drying puddle. Extremely rare in modern Japanese; encountered mainly in literary or historical texts.

• 轍てっ鮒ぷの急きゅうを救すくう。

  To rescue someone from imminent danger (literally, to save a fish in a drying rut).