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Mountain Posted 19 years ago
Vocabulary

What's this term call?

Could someone please help me with a term where you want to help someone but you can't. Thanks
  

Top answer

My hands are tied.

— Lil' Ruby Rose

  • My hands are tied.
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8 Answers
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or "I'm all tied up".
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Hi,

No, 'I'm all tied up' means 'I'm very busy'.

How about 'I'm powerless to help you'?

Best wishes, Clive
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- "It's out of my hand."

- "Sorry, I can't help you."
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I really want to be of help, but it is out of my reach.
Emotion: stick out tongue
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If you refer to what we often feel in such situations, the term you're looking for could be 'impotent' (adjective) or '(a sense of) impotence' (noun).

PS: By the way, your question should read: "What's this term called?".
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You could talk about "a feeling of impotence" in various situations, but be careful -- you do NOT want to to say (for example, to a client) "Sorry -- I'd like to help you but I'm impotent"! (Usually "impotent" means "unable to perform sexually.")
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KhoffYou could talk about "a feeling of impotence" in various situations, but be careful -- you do NOT want to to say (for example, to a client) "Sorry -- I'd like to help you but I'm impotent"! (Usually "impotent" means "unable to perform sexually.")

This just goes to show that context is everything!

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