hit the wall
Meaning: To suddenly run out of energy.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “I hit the wall halfway through the afternoon.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Marathon runners' slang from the 1970s for the point when the body's energy stores run out.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Avoir un coup de pompe — literally: To take a stroke of the pump
More idioms — Body & Senses
- sit on one's hands — To do nothing when action is needed.
- beat someone to a pulp — To beat someone very severely.
- have had it up to here — To be completely fed up.
- a spare tire — A roll of fat around the waist.
- get out of hand — To become impossible to control.
- bang one's head against a brick wall — To keep trying something with no result.
More English idioms
- grab a bite — To eat something quickly.
- like a rat in a trap — Trapped with no way to escape.
- like the cat that got the cream — Very pleased with oneself.
- work for peanuts — To work for very little pay.
- flat out — As fast or as hard as possible.
- can't carry a tune in a bucket — Sings very badly.
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