一日一成语【48】at the end of one’s tether

at the end of one’s tether

这个成语也可以说成at the end of one’s rope, tether 的解释是“绳索”或“索链”，因此和rope基本上是同义的。at the end of one’s tether/rope字面上表示“到了绳索的末端”，也就是说绳子已放尽，无法再放长，这个情景生动地比喻了“山穷水尽、智穷力竭”的困迫境地。可以用这个成语来表示“穷尽”所有力量、办法、耐心、财力、资源等等：

After trying in vain to control the unruly class, the young and inexperienced instructor had to admit that he was at eth end of his tether.
试图控制这个难弄的班级但不见生效后，这个缺乏经验的年轻教师不得不承认，他已无法可施。

He tried every restaurant in the town, but no one wanted to hire a helping hand. When night fell, he felt he was at the end of his tether.
镇上每一家饭店他都去试了，但没有人要雇帮工，夜色降临，他感到山穷水尽、走投无路。

I feel I’m at the end of my rope and if I do not stop to have a holiday, I’ll really break down.
我感到筋疲力尽，如果再不停下来去休假，我可真的要垮下来不可。