📖 Meaning
To feel completely helpless, as if one's hands are tied. It describes a situation where a person faces a problem but has no idea what to do and cannot come up with any solution at all.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom first appeared in the Yuan dynasty historical text 'Song Ji San Chao Zheng Yao' (《宋季三朝政要》), an anonymous work chronicling the late Song dynasty. The passage describes the aftermath of the death of Qin Hui (秦桧), the infamous chancellor who betrayed the Song. After Qin Hui died, the Jin ruler Wanyan Liang (完颜亮) launched a southern invasion, and the Song court was so panicked and unprepared that no one could devise any countermeasure — they were all utterly helpless. The image of hands being bound captures the paralysis and despair of that moment.
💡 Example Usage
面对突如其来的洪水，村民们束手无策，只能等待救援。
Faced with the sudden flood, the villagers were completely helpless and could only wait to be rescued.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 束手无策
- Pinyin: shù shǒu wú cè
- Literal Translation: bind, hands, without, plan
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4