be at loose ends —(also: be at a loose end)
1. be without employment or fixed occupation:
- He was the only stranger in Cyprus who was thus at a loose end, as it were, and not on some professional duty.
2. be in an unsettled or uncertain situation:
- He’s at loose ends. Hates his work, loathes his wife, and the kids bore him to death.
tie up loose ends—deal with some parts of work that have been left over:
- She spent the afternoon tying up loose ends: editing a feature on California Cuisine, making phone calls, answering memos.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase make both ends meet—live within one’s means:
- With a family becoming daily more expensive, the little book-keeper had found it hard work to make both ends meet.