Idioms

tether

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at the end of (one's) rope

Having reached a point of utter exhaustion or exasperation; in a state at which one has no more patience, endurance, or energy left. The baby's been crying all morning, and I haven't slept properly in days. I'm just at the end of my rope! He's at the end of his rope trying to get this issue resolved. Joshua has been throwing a tantrum all afternoon, and with all the other things I have to get done, I'm simply at the end of my rope!
See also: end, of, rope

at the end of (one's) tether

Completely worn out, exasperated, or exhausted; having no more patience, endurance, or energy left. Joshua has been throwing a tantrum all afternoon, and with all the other things I have to get done, I'm simply at the end of my tether! Daniel's been at the end of his tether for weeks now—he has seriously got to get a different job! The baby's been crying all morning, and I haven't slept properly in days. I'm just at the end of my tether!
See also: end, of, tether

be at the end of (one's) tether

To be completely worn out, exasperated, or exhausted; to have no more patience, endurance, or energy left. The baby's been crying all morning, and I haven't slept properly in days! I'm just at the end of my tether! The bosses are at the end of their tethers with the way this project is moving, so they've decided to bring in some outside help. Daniel's been at the end of his tether for weeks now—he has seriously got to get a different job!
See also: end, of, tether

come to the end of (one's) rope

To become completely worn out, exasperated, or exhausted; to have no more patience, endurance, or energy left. Joshua started throwing a tantrum this afternoon, and with all the other things I have to get done, I've just come to the end of my rope! We've been coming to the end of our ropes trying to get this issue resolved. Yes, I've come to the end of my rope—the baby's been crying all morning, and I haven't slept properly in days!
See also: come, end, of, rope, to

come to the end of (one's) tether

To reach or be close to a point of utter exhaustion or exasperation; to have no more patience, endurance, or energy left. The baby's been crying all morning, and I haven't slept properly in days. I'm just coming to the end of my tether! We've been coming to the end of our tethers trying to get this issue resolved. Yes, I've come to the end of my tether—the baby's been crying all morning, and I haven't slept properly in days!
See also: come, end, of, tether, to

the end of (one's) tether

A point of utter exhaustion or exasperation; a point or state at which one has no more patience, endurance, or energy left. Joshua started throwing a tantrum this afternoon, and with all the other things I have to get done, I've just reached the end of my tether! Daniel's been at the end of his tether for weeks now—he has seriously got to get a different job!
See also: end, of, tether
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

at the end of one's rope

 and at the end of one's tether
Fig. at the limits of one's endurance. I'm at the end of my rope! I just can't go on this way! These kids are driving me out of my mind. I'm at the end of my tether.
See also: end, of, rope
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

end of one's rope, at the

Also, at the end of one's tether. At the limits of one's resources, abilities, endurance, or patience. For example, If that loan doesn't come through, we'll be at the end of our rope, or The workmen are driving me crazy; I'm at the end of my tether. This expression alludes to a tied-up animal that can graze only as far as the rope (or tether) permits. [Late 1600s]
See also: end, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

at the end of your tether

COMMON If you are at the end of your tether, you are very upset because you are no longer able to deal with a difficult situation. I had tried every solution I could think of: I was at the end of my tether.
See also: end, of, tether
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

at the end of your tether

having no patience, resources, or energy left to cope with something.
A North American variant of this expression is at the end of your rope , and in both cases the image is that of a grazing animal tethered on a rope that allows it a certain range in which to move but which at full stretch prohibits further movement.
See also: end, of, tether
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

be at the ˌend of your ˈtether

(British English) (American English be at the ˌend of your ˈrope) having no more patience or strength left: After two hours of hearing the children shout and argue, I really was at the end of my tether.
See also: end, of, tether
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

at the end of (one's) rope

/tether
Out of energy or patience; exhausted or exasperated.
See also: end, of, rope
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

end of one's rope/tether, at the/come to the

To have exhausted one’s resources or abilities. The term alludes to a tethered (roped) animal that can graze only as far as the length of the rope permits. “Being run to the end of his Rope, as one that had no more Excuses to make,” wrote Sir John Chardin in 1686 (The Coronation of Solyman the Third). “I am at the end of my tether” was close to being a cliché by the time Royall Tyler used the line in his comedy The Contrast (first U.S. production in 1787).
See also: come, end, of, rope, to
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive
It should be noticed that there are several other kinds of tether dynamical models such as the lumped mass model and the beam model, in which the mass, elastic strain, and damping of a tether are fully considered; thus, the deformation of a tether can be described and it also leads to a high-order vibration, which is superimposed on the pendular motion of the tethered system.
Optimal Control Scheme of the Tethered System for Orbital Transfer under a Constant Thrust
To date, no studies have determined whether differences in the ability to generate force with the left and right upper extremities in land-based strength test (using a maximal voluntary isometric contraction test) are related to propulsive force asymmetries measured during a tethered swimming.
Front Crawl Swimming Performance and Bi-Lateral Force Asymmetry during Land-Based and Tethered Swimming Tests
RSPCA inspectors made a visit to Hatton Country World after concerns were raised about a dog tethered in a pen.
RSPCA visits family attraction after dog tethering concerns
The impact is divided into the perfect elastic and inelastic impacts, that is, impact without/with damping due to the elasticity of the tether. As shown in Figure 2, the incident and reflective angles before and after impact are equal to each other; that is, [[phi].sub.in] = [[phi].sub.re].
Vibroimpact Dynamics of a Tethered Satellite System
Bruce Montgomery, president of Syntonics LLC, a Columbia, Maryland-based radio frequencies technology company, said the high antennas for radio communications tethered drone would not only benefit combat troops, but could aid in ship-to-shore and search-and-rescue missions.
Tethered unmanned aircraft to boost radio networks
In conjunction, The Tether is available through the US FDA's humanitarian device exemption (HDE) pathway.
Zimmer Biomet wins first FDA approval for the Tether for treating scoliosis in pediatrics
'The Tether embodies Zimmer Biomet's mission to improve the quality of life for people around the world.
Zimmer Biomet's Innovative Treatment for Young Patients with Scoliosis Receives FDA Approval
The device is the first spinal tether device approved for this indication and offers an alternative to fusion surgery when idiopathic scoliosis does not respond well to bracing.
FDA Approves Tether Device to Correct Idiopathic Scoliosis; Device provides alternative to fusion surgery when idiopathic scoliosis not responsive to bracing
The Attorney General alleges that the operators of Bitfinex and Tether engaged in fraud to hide the loss of $850m from the exchange to Crypto Capital Corp, a thirdparty payments processor used by Bitfinex.
CRYPTOCOMPARE MARKET VIEW; The alleged $850m 'cover-up'
TRON has announced it has partnered with Tether to issue USDT tokens to the TRON blockchain, the company said.
TRON, Tether collaborate to introduce USDT tokens
Apellix's precision-controlled aerial robotics systems are based on its patented software platform that utilizes tethered and untethered drones to move workers from harm's way.
Apellix[TM] Granted USTPO Patent for Its Umbilical Cabling and Tethering (UCAT) Systems for Aerial Robots and Drones
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