キュウ, キョウ, きわ.める, きわ.まる, きわ.まり, きわ.み

hard up, destitute, suffer, perplexed, cornered

JLPT1 G7 S15 F1756

As per 躬# (bend) + hole → bend in negotiating a tunnel → *be blocked/stuffed*; *be at/come to an extreme*; *end*; *dead end* (← reach the end of a tunnel). Also the borrowed meanings *investigation* and *follow through* (compare , , and ).

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