煞费苦心

shà fèi kǔ xīn de zhǎo xún jiè kǒu

煞费苦心地找寻借口

cudgel one's brains to find an excuse

wèi le guǎn lǐ hǎo gōng chǎng tā zhēn shi shà fèi kǔ xīn

为了管理好工厂，他真是煞费苦心。

He took great pains to manage the factory well.

tā shà fèi kǔ xīn de píng xī cái yuán de yáo yán

他煞费苦心地平息裁员的谣言。

He was at great pains to deny the rumour of redundancies.

tā men wèi měi gè xì jié shà fèi kǔ xīn

他们为每个细节煞费苦心。

They take great pains to every detail.

tā shà fèi kǔ xīn yào tí shēng zì jǐ de xíng xiàng

他煞费苦心要提升自己的形象。

He’s taken great pains to improve his image.