on (one's) beam-ends

In a precarious and/or desperate situation. The phrase was originally used to describe the tilted position of a ship before it capsizes. My sister's on her beam-ends now that she's lost her job—I might have to lend her some money so she doesn't lose her house. Tell me the truth, doc—am I on my beam-ends, or do I still have treatment options available?

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Meredith	MER-ə-dith (English)	Welsh, English
Khulan	-	Mongolian
Aldwin	-	Ancient Germanic
Jarrod	['dʒa:rəd]
Dora	DAWR-ə (English), DO-rah (Croatian, Serbian)	English, Dutch, Spanish, Greek, Croatian, Serbian
Esperanza	es-pe-RAHN-thah (Spanish), es-pe-RAHN-sah (Latin American Spanish)	Spanish