想一想人們用繩索攀巖的時候,如果你還在半空而繩子卻不幸到了盡頭,那么你真的是“at the end of your rope”(山窮水盡),無法達到預定的目標了。還有一種說法,飼養(yǎng)家禽的時候,雞鴨被繩子拴住(at the end of the rope),所以只能在“一定的范圍內(nèi)”覓食。
日常生活中,“at the end of one's rope”常用來喻指“山窮水盡,智窮力竭”,例如:I've tried everything, but nothing's worked. I'm at the end of my rope.(我已經(jīng)嘗試過所有的辦法了,但都沒有用,我已經(jīng)山窮水盡了。)
在貶義的層面上,該片語還有黔驢技窮的意思,比如:He was at the end of his rope as the leader of the company.(作為我們公司的高層領導,他已經(jīng)智窮才盡了。)