weak flesh

[NIN]

Hi!
I would like to know if it's right and idiomatic .
If someone is vulnerable to disease , may I also say :He has weak flesh.?
Could you tell me?
Thanks a lot!

[Pete]

Hi!
I would like to know if it's right and idiomatic .
If someone is vulnerable to disease , may I also say :He has weak flesh.?
Could you tell me?
Thanks a lot!
This would not be common and probably would be misunderstood.

Almost always, the phrase "weak flesh" is an allusion to a verse in the Christian Bible that says "The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak." The meaning is that someone may want (in his/her spirit) to do something that is right, but because of the inherent weakness of the actual human body (the flesh), the person does something else. The specific context of the original quote was a situation where some people were supposed to keep watch, and they fully intended to do so, but due to their tiredness and the "weakness of their flesh", they fell asleep.

[Bridget]

It is used in medical circles:

"A yellow complexion with thin skin and weak flesh indicates insufficient lung qi, which is metal."

The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, By Mi Huang-Fu, Shou-zhong Yang, Charles Chace.

..............

The woman succumbed to a new addiction. Once she gave in to the temptation of scratching, she found a fascination with the infected, shriveled, reptilian flakes that fell away to reveal a pink underlayer of skin too raw to welcome such exposure. Despite the knowledge that the more she scratched the more intense her torment would become, burning in vengeance for the rest of the day, she'd still dig in, compelled to break into the itch. Red dots welled up, a blood surrender from the weak flesh.

http://www.theharrow.com/journal/index.php?journal=journal&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=2269&path%5B%5D=660

.......

a yellow face and emaciated, weak flesh and body, a dark, purple tongue

A Handbook of Traditional Chinese Gynecology
By Bob Flaws, Zhang Ting-Liang
....

[Marius Hancu]

I agree with Pete.

Use:

He has a weak constitution.
He's prone to diseases.
He's in bad physical shape.
He's sensitive to infections.

[NIN]

Thanks for your answers!:)