at sb’s beck and call;be dependent on the whims of others; be slavishly dependent; be an underdog; curry to sb’s every whim ? 袁紹孤客窮軍，仰我鼻息，譬如嬰兒在股掌之上，絕其乳哺，立可餓死。(《三國演義》56) Yuan Shao is a needy man with a hungry army and as dependent on us for existence as an infant in arms on its mother.Stop the flow of milk and the infant dies.
仰人鼻息
be slavishly dependent on others;be at sb’s beck and call
仰人鼻息yǎnɡ rén bì xī
仰：依賴；鼻息：呼吸。依賴著別人的呼吸活下去。比喻依賴別人，不能自立。be slavishly dependent, rely on sb. for a living, at sb.’s beck and call, dependent on the whims of others