clutch a straw
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noun
1.
a single stalk or stem, especially of certain species of grain, chiefly wheat, rye, oats, and barley.
2.
a mass of such stalks, especially after drying and threshing, used as fodder.
3.
material, fibers, etc., made from such stalks, as used for making hats or baskets.
4.
the negligible value of one such stalk; trifle; least bit: not to care a straw.
5.
a tube, usually of paper or glass, for sucking up a beverage from a container: to sip lemonade through a straw.
6.
anything of possible but dubious help in a desperate circumstance.
7.
straw man ( def 2 ).
8.
a straw hat.
adjective
9.
of, pertaining to, containing, or made of straw: a straw hat.
10.
of the color of straw; pale yellow.
11.
of little value or consequence; worthless.
12.
sham; fictitious.
00:10
Clutch a straw
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
13.
catch/clutch/grasp at a straw/straws/any straw(s), to seize at any chance, no matter how slight, of saving oneself from calamity.
14.
draw straws, to decide by lottery using straws or strawlike items of different lengths, usually with the short straw or straws determining the person chosen or the loser.
Related forms
straw·less, adjective
straw·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To clutch a straw
Collins
World English Dictionary
straw1 (strɔː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. stalks of threshed grain, esp of wheat, rye, oats, or barley, used in plaiting hats, baskets, etc, or as fodder |
| b. (as modifier): a straw hat | |
| 2. | a single dry or ripened stalk, esp of a grass |
| 3. | a long thin hollow paper or plastic tube or stem of a plant, used for sucking up liquids into the mouth |
| 4. | (usually used with a negative) anything of little value or importance: I wouldn't give a straw for our chances |
| 5. | a measure or remedy that one turns to in desperation (esp in the phrases clutchorgrasp at a straworstraws) |
| 6. | a. a pale yellow colour |
| b. (as adjective): straw hair | |
| 7. | straw in the wind a hint or indication |
| 8. | the last straw a small incident, setback, etc that, coming after others, proves intolerable |
| —adj | |
| 9. | chiefly (US) having little value or substance |
| [Old English streaw; related to Old Norse strā, Old Frisian strē, Old High German strō; see | |
| 'strawlike1 | |
| —adj | |
| straw2 (strɔː) | |
| —vb | |
| archaic another word for strew | |
| Straw (strɔː) | |
| —n | |
| Jack, full name John Whitaker Straw. born 1946, British Labour politician; Home Secretary (1997--2001); Foreign Secretary (2001--06); Lord Chancellor from 2007 | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
straw
O.E. streaw "stems or stalks of certain cereals," lit. "that which is scattered or strewn," related to streowian (see strew), from P.Gmc. *strawam "that which is scattered" (cf. O.N. stra, Dan. straa, Swed. strå, O.Fris. stre, O.Du., O.H.G. stro, Ger. Stroh "straw"),
from PIE *stere- "to spread" (see structure). The notion is of dried grain stalks strewn on a floor as carpeting or bedding. As a type of what is trifling or unimportant, attested from late 13c. Meaning "hollow tube through which a drink is sucked" is recorded from 1851. To draw straws as a means of deciding something is recorded from 1832. The last straw is from the proverb of the camel. Man of straw "imaginary opponent" is recorded from 1620s. Straw poll is from 1932; earlier straw vote (1866). Straw hat first attested mid-15c. To clutch (or grasp or catch) at straws (1748) is what a drowning man proverbially would do.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
straw definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
Straw definition
Used in brick-making (Ex. 5:7-18). Used figuratively in Job 41:27; Isa. 11:7; 25:10; 65:25.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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