at one's wits' end
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Quite at a loss as to what to say or what to do next; "flummoxed.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “at one's wits' end” mean?
Quite at a loss as to what to say or what to do next; "flummoxed.
Is “at one's wits' end” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.