Englishat one's wits' end
Meaning: At a loss about what to do next; in a state of frustration.
Example: “The baby wouldn't stop crying, and I was at my wits' end.”
Other ways to say this
Slovak: Byť v koncoch Literally: To be at the ends
Italian: Non sapere che pesci pigliare Literally: To not know which fish to catch
French: Ne plus savoir où donner de la tête Literally: To no longer know where to put one's head- English: not know which way to turn
Origin: Comes into English from the Bible, and the setting is a storm at sea. Psalm 107 describes sailors caught in a tempest, reeling and staggering like drunken men, and says they are at their wits' end — wording fixed by the 1611 King James translation after appearing in earlier English versions. The phrase is a small museum of an older meaning: "wit" once meant the mind itself, the faculty of reason, with no connection to humor, and the plural named the mental faculties collectively. That sense survives now almost entirely inside a handful of fixed expressions — keeping one's wits about you, living by one's wits, being scared out of one's wits — all of which describe reason as something that can be present, sharpened, or lost.
More English idioms
- have bats in one's belfry Harmlessly crazy or eccentric.
- behind the eight ball In a difficult situation or position.
- hit someone below the belt To act unfairly.
- beside oneself Distraught; very anxious and troubled.
- beside the point Irrelevant.
- bet one's boots To be sure.
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