束手无策

lit. to have one's hands bound and be unable to do anything about it (idiom); fig. helpless in the face of a crisis

to bind / bunch / bundle / classifier for bunches, bundles, beams of light etc / to control

to have one's hands tied / helpless / unable to do anything about it

hand / (formal) to hold / person engaged in certain types of work / person skilled in certain types of work / personal(ly) / convenient / classifier for skill / CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1]

not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less

surname Ce

policy / plan / scheme / bamboo slip for writing (old) / to whip (a horse) / to encourage / riding crop with sharp spines (old) / essay written for the imperial examinations (old) / upward horizontal stroke in calligraphy

variant of 策[ce4]

variant of 策[ce4]