strain every nerve

to try extremely hard to do something I was straining every nerve to catch what they were saying but they were sitting just a bit too far away from me.

strain every nerve

To make every effort.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Lyubomir	-	Bulgarian, Medieval Slavic
Lind	[lind]
Nicol	['nikl]
Eirenaios	-	Ancient Greek
Adamson	['ædəmsn]
Darcy	['dɑ:si]