at the end of (one's) rope

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.

See also: end, of, rope

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 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 (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