黔驴技穷 (qián lǘ jì qióng) — (idiom) to have exhausted one's limited abilities; to be at one's wit's end
Definition
Literary idiom: 'the Guizhou donkey has exhausted its tricks.' Means someone's limited abilities have run out — at wit's end, out of moves. Stronger and more literary than the everyday phrase 江郎才尽 (talent dried up).
idiom
to have exhausted one's limited abilitiesto be at one's wit's end
Examples
- 黔驴技穷，。Tā nà xiē lǎo bàn fǎ zǎo yǐ qián lǘ jì qióng, zài yě wú fǎ yìng duì xīn wèn tí le.His old methods have long since exhausted their limited effectiveness, and he can no longer cope with new problems.
- 黔驴技穷，。Duì fāng gōng sī yǐ jīng qián lǘ jì qióng, zhī kào jiàng jià lái wéi chí.The other company has run out of all its tricks and is only surviving by lowering prices.
- ，黔驴技穷。Bié kàn tā yì kāi shǐ shuō dé tóu tóu shì dào, qí shí hěn kuài jiù qián lǘ jì qióng le.Don't be fooled by how confidently he spoke at first — he soon exhausted his limited abilities.
Appears in
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