the end of one's rope

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

the end of one’s rope

1. (idiomatic) The limit of one’s patience, when one is so frustrated or annoyed that one can no longer cope.

   come to the end of one's rope; reach the end of one's rope; at the end of one's rope

2. (idiomatic) The point at which one has run out of options or the ability to delay.

   come to the end of one's rope; reach the end of one's rope; at the end of one's rope

   • 2000, Mark Ellingsen, A Word That Sets Free: First Lesson Sermons for Sundays After Pentecost (Last Third) Cycle C, CSS Publishing, →ISBN, page 43:

     Have you reached the end of your rope? Are all your options closed?

Translations

the point of having no more options

• French: (translating "at the end of one's rope") ^{(please verify)} au bout du rouleau (fr), ^{(please verify)} en dernier ressort (fr), ^{(please verify)} en désespoir de cause (fr)
• Polish: u kresu cierpliwości m (at the end of one's rope)
• Portuguese: (at the end of one's rope) por um fio, nas últimas (pt), no limite
• Swedish: vägs ände

See also

• at the end of one's tether