have one foot in the grave
To be on the verge of death. When I had the flu last week, I felt like I had one foot in the grave. The way the nurses are talking, it sounds like Great-Uncle Edmund already has one foot in the grave—you better come to the hospital quick.
one foot in the grave, have
Be close to death or in terrible condition, as in Jane looks as though she has one foot in the grave. This picturesque hyperbolic phrase was first recorded in 1566.