Like the Ancient Mariner's ship, tide- and weather-battered (4,2,3,5)
I believe the answer is:
dead in the water
'like the ancient mariner's ship' is the definition.
(ref to Coleridge poem about the Ancient Mariner)
'tide-and weather-battered' is the wordplay.
'battered' is an anagram indicator.
'tide'+'and'+'weather'='tideandweather'
'tideandweather' with letters rearranged gives 'DEAD IN THE WATER'.
(Other definitions for dead in the water that I've seen before include "Ophelia was" , "Unable to move" , "unable to make progress" , "Unable to function effectively" .)