at one's wits' end #2

飼い犬が飼い主とその家族を、火事から救い出しました。
Hero pit bull saves Florida family from house fire

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ― A 9-month-old pit bull terrier who saved his family from an early morning fire was burned over as much as 30% of his body, but veterinarians said Friday they hope to send him home in two to three days.

中略

But the couple spent most of Thursday worrying that they might have to surrender Onyx to the Tallahassee Animal Service Center to get him the care he needed because the family didn't have enough money for the anticipated vet bills.

Onyx will require several weeks of treatment with antibiotics and pain medications to help his burns heal.

"We were at our wits' end," she said. "We were going to give him up because we didn't have money for treatment."

When staffers at the animal shelter realized that Onyx was a hero, they reached out to veterinarian Kevin Brumfield of Northwood Animal Hospital, who took on the task of treating the dog and raising money through the office's Facebook page.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/27/pit-bill-saves-family/2884811/

今回は、本文中のat our wits' endという箇所に注目したいと思います。過去にもブログで紹介されているように、(http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20110319/1300542319)witは「機知，ウィット，知恵」(『ウィズダム英和辞典　第二版』三省堂)というような意味があります。本文中ではat one's wits'[wit's, wits] endという形で、「（万策尽き）途方にくれて」(ibid)という意味で用いられています。今回の記事中でも、辞書の様に「途方にくれていた」と訳せそうですね。(Astroriver)