📖 Meaning
This idiom describes being at a dead end with no way forward. It metaphorically refers to an extremely difficult situation where one has exhausted all options and resources. The phrase conveys a sense of complete desperation and having reached the absolute end of one's road.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase originates from 'Wu Yue Chunqiu' (Records of Wu and Yue), in the biography of King Liao and Prince Guang. Wu Zixu (伍子胥), a statesman fleeing from the state of Chu, found himself in desperate circumstances and remarked that when offering relief to someone in destitute straits, even a meager portion of food should not be scorned. The story highlights the compassion extended to those who have reached the end of their road. Over time, the expression came to symbolize reaching a point of complete desperation with no path forward.
💡 Example Usage
敌军已被围困多日，粮草断绝，到了末路穷途的境地。
The enemy army had been besieged for days with supplies cut off, reduced to a desperate situation with no way out.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 末路穷途
- Pinyin: mò lù qióng tú
- Literal Translation: end, road, exhausted, path
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4