📖 Meaning
This idiom means being unable to think of any solution or plan. It describes a state where someone is completely at a loss for ideas when faced with a difficult situation. It is equivalent to the more common idiom 计无所出.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom is a variant of the phrase 计无所出, which appears in classical Chinese historical texts. The expression conveys the image of someone searching their mind for a strategy yet finding nothing to draw upon. It is found in works such as the Book of Jin (晋书), where figures in desperate straits are described as having exhausted all possible plans. Over time, the variant form 计无由出 emerged with the same meaning, emphasizing that no avenue or source for a solution can be found.
💡 Example Usage
面对如此棘手的难题，他一时计无由出，只能先回去慢慢想办法。
Faced with such a thorny problem, he could think of no solution for the moment and had to go back and think it over slowly.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 计无由出
- Pinyin: jì wú yóu chū
- Literal Translation: plan, no, source, come forth
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4