a drowning man will grab at a straw

proverb Someone who is desperate enough will try anything to help their situation, even if it is really of no help at all. A: "I heard Jared is going to a psychic to help him figure out how to salvage his marriage." B: "Wow. A drowning man will grab at a straw, huh?" A: "Holistic medicine probably can't help him now that the cancer has spread so drastically, but he still wants to give it a shot." B: "Well, a drowning man will grab at a straw." Stu's spreading these lies about me because he knows he can't beat me fair and square! It's so typical—a drowning man will grab at a straw.