straw (redirected from Drawing straws)

clutch/grasp at straws

1. to try any method, even those that are not likely to succeed, because you are in such a bad situation. He's hoping that this new treatment will help him but I think he's clutching at straws. (usually in continuous tenses)

2. to try to find reasons to feel hopeful about a situation when there is no real cause for hope. She thinks he might still be interested because he calls her now and then but I think she's clutching at straws. (usually in continuous tenses)

See also: clutch, grasp

draw the short straw (informal)

to be the member of a group who has to do an unpleasant job. Sorry, Jim, you drew the short straw. You're on toilet-cleaning duty.

See also: draw, short

the final/last straw

the last in a series of unpleasant events which finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation. One night he came home drunk at 5 o'clock in the morning and that was the last straw. He'd been unhappy at work for a long time but the last straw came when he was refused promotion. Lucy leaving was the last straw for him and he pretty much gave up the will to live. (often + for)

See also: final, last

a man of straw (British, American & Australian, American)

a person or an idea that is weak and easy to defeat. Compared to their illustrious predecessors, the country's leaders seem to be men of straw.

See also: man

a straw in the wind

something that shows you what might happen in the future. There were one or two straws in the wind yesterday that suggested an offensive was imminent. (usually plural)

See also: wind

the straw that breaks the camel's back

the last in a series of unpleasant events which finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation. Losing my job was bad enough but having the relationship end like that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

See also: back, break, that

You can't make bricks without straw.

something that you say which means you cannot do something correctly without the necessary materials. I need an electric drill to put these shelves up. You can't make bricks without straw.

See also: brick, can't, without

---

grasping at straws

1. trying to find reasons to feel hopeful about a bad situation. She thinks he might still be interested because he calls her now and then but I think she's clutching at straws.

2. trying to find some way to succeed when nothing you choose is likely to work. Jerry, grasping at straws, searched the backup tapes from last week, looking for the missing files.

straw in the wind

something that shows you what might happen in the future. There were straws in the wind that suggested a strike was likely.

Usage notes: usually used in the plural, as in the example

See also: wind