hundred knots of worry in one's intestines; describes being overwhelmed by grief or anxiety that is impossible to resolve

overwhelmed with deep sorrow or anxiety; literally describing the heart and intestines as being tied in a hundred knots due to grief

Used to describe clothes that are ragged and worn out, resembling a quail's tattered tail or fabric that has been patched many times.

(literary) clothing that is extremely ragged and tattered, as if covered with a hundred knots; describes clothing that is worn-out and full of patches

dressed in rags; patched clothing that hangs like the short tail of a quail

Clothing that has been patched and mended many times; rags