strain every nerve/sinew
strain every nerve
To expend a maximum amount of effort to do something. I strained every nerve to reach that book on the top shelf, and I still couldn't get it.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
strain every nerve
make every possible effort.Nerve is used here in an earlier sense of ‘tendon or sinew’.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
strain every ˈnerve/ˈsinew (to do something)
(written) try as hard as you can (to do something): He strained every sinew to help us, but didn’t succeed.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
strain every nerve
To make every effort.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.