contra las cuerdas

Spanish

Adverb

contra las cuerdas

1. (boxing, professional wrestling) on the ropes (leaning against the ropes of the boxing ring, as when exhausted and nearing defeat or collapse)
2. (idiomatic, figuratively, by extension) on the ropes (showing signs of imminent failure or collapse)

Further reading

• “contra las cuerdas”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014