beat one's brains out 绞尽脑汁；伤透脑筋；挖空心思

【例句】
He was beating his brains out all weekend trying to persuade his wife not to buy the house.
他整个周末都在绞尽脑汁，试图说服妻子不要买这所房子。

I've been beating my brains out trying to pass the driving test. However, it proves to be totally useless.
我一直在绞尽脑汁试图通过驾驶考试，然而，事实证明这完全是徒劳的。