| 釋義 |
理屈詞窮lǐ qū cí qióngbe tongue-tied on realizing one’s own shaky stand; be unable to advance any further arguments to justify oneself; fall silent on finding oneself bested in argument; find oneself devoid of all argument; find one’s arguments falling to pieces; have a weak case and can not defend oneself; have not a leg to stand on; shut up when defeated in argument
? 寶釵因又勸道：“你既～，我勸你從此把心收一收，好好的用用功，但能博得一第，便是從此而止，也不枉天恩祖德了！”(《紅樓夢》1514) Baochai went on to plead，“Since you’ve run out of arguments,my advice to you is to take a grip on yourself and study hard; because if you can pass the triennial examination,even if you stop at that,you’ll be paying back your debt of gratitude for your sovereign’s favour and your ancestore’s virtue.” 理屈詞窮have nothing left to justify oneself;at the end of one’s excuses; fail to advance any further arguments to defend (or justify) oneself 理屈詞窮lǐ qū cí qiónɡ屈：短、虧；窮：盡。由于理虧而無話可說。be unable to advance any further arguments to justify oneself, have not a leg to stand on, have nothing to say to justify oneself |