贫无立锥 so poor as to have no room to stick an awl on; utterly destitute; in extreme poverty
立锥之地 a place to stick an awl -- a tiny bit of land; an inch of standing room 无立锥之地 have not even enough land to stick an awl into; not possess a speck of land
不败之地 (to secure) an invincible position 立于不败之地 put oneself in an invincible position; remain unconquerable [invincible]
不毛之地 (不生长草木五谷的地方) gally; barren land; desert; a desert region; sterile land; waste land [region]; a bare and barren land; meager soil; arid land; land without a blade of grass; land which does not grow anything 我们要把这块不毛之地改成麦田。 we shall turn this piece of wasteland into wheat fields