rack one's brains; exhaust one's wits (derogatory)
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to rack one's brains; to think exhaustively (usually derogatory)
derogatoryIndicates expending great mental effort, often with a negative connotation of scheming, plotting, or trying too hard to achieve a goal. Literally 'digging out one's heart and thoughts'.
Tā他
wèi为
le了
zhuàn赚
qián钱
，
wā挖
kōng空
xīn心
sī思
de地
qī欺
piàn骗
gù顾
kè客
。
To make money, he racked his brains trying to deceive customers.
Tā她
wā挖
kōng空
xīn心
sī思
de地
tǎo讨
hǎo好
shàng上
si司
，
xī希
wàng望
néng能
dé得
dào到
jìn晋
shēng升
。
She exhausted her wits trying to curry favor with her boss, hoping to get a promotion.
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Huài坏
rén人
wā挖
kōng空
xīn心
sī思
shè设
jì计
xiàn陷
jǐng阱
，
zuì最
zhōng终
hái还
shì是
bèi被
jǐng警
chá察
shí识
pò破
le了
。
The villains schemed exhaustively to set traps, but were ultimately exposed by the police.
Tā他
men们
wā挖
kōng空
xīn心
sī思
yě也
xiǎng想
bù不
chū出
yī一
gè个
wán完
měi美
de的
jiě解
jué决
fāng方
àn案
。
They racked their brains but still couldn't come up with a perfect solution.