knocking on heaven's door
- idiom
- Informal
:
al borde de la muerte
- During the expedition, lack of food left many explorers knocking on heaven's door.
Examples
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The doctors fought hard when she was knocking on heaven's door in the ICU.
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He felt like he was knocking on heaven's door after the accident.
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After the severe heart attack, he was knocking on heaven's door for days.
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After the surgery, she was knocking on heaven's door for days.
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After the accident, he was knocking on heaven's door for several minutes before help arrived.
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The doctor said she was knocking on heaven's door, and we needed to act quickly.
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The patient was conscious but barely holding on, truly knocking on heaven's door.
Synonyms
7
7.6
Very ill and almost dying
1
9.9
Very near death or in a very serious emergency
A time when someone is about to die
Antonyms
How Near Death
Surface Forms
Morphology
knocking + on + heaven's + door
The image of 'knocking' at 'heaven's door' does create a compositional metaphor (trying to enter heaven) that points to being near death, so a learner who knows the parts could plausibly infer the general sense. However the phrase is idiomatic and culturally marked (popularized in song), so the exact nuance and conventional idiomatic usage may not be fully predictable without exposure. Because the connection is recognisable but metaphorical and somewhat conventionalised, it is best classed as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Knocking on heaven's door comes from an old image in songs and stories where a dying person is shown knocking at heaven's door as if asking to enter heaven. That's why the phrase means 'very close to death' today.