ひねくり回まわす

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

twist; twirl; fiddle with (physically)

Physical sense: twisting, twirling, or fiddling with an object in one's hands, often idly or repeatedly.

• 彼かれはペンをひねくり回まわしながら考かんがえていた。

  He was thinking while twirling a pen in his fingers.

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

tinker with; rewrite; play around with (words/ideas)

Abstract sense: tinkering with words, plans, or ideas, often by rewriting or reworking them repeatedly.

• 彼かれは原げん稿こうを何なん度どもひねくり回まわして、ようやく完かん成せいさせた。

  He tinkered with the manuscript many times and finally completed it.

godan verb (-su), transitive verb

rack one's brains; worry over

Figurative use: racking one's brains or worrying over a problem, often with a sense of overthinking.

• 難むずかしい問もん題だいをひねくり回まわしても、答こたえは出でなかった。

  Even after racking my brains over the difficult problem, I couldn't find an answer.