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last straw

 - 4 dictionary results

last straw

 
Use last straw in a Sentence
–noun
the last of a succession of irritations, incidents, remarks, etc., that leads to a loss of patience, a disaster, etc.: He has been late before, but this is the last straw.
Origin:
1840–50; after the proverb “It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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last straw  
n.  The last of a series of annoyances or disappointments that leads one to a final loss of patience, temper, trust, or hope.

[From the proverb "It's the last straw that breaks the camel's back".]
straw   (strô)   
n.  

    1. Stalks of threshed grain, used as bedding and food for animals, for thatching, and for weaving or braiding, as into baskets.

    2. A single stalk of threshed grain.

    3. Something of minimal value or importance.

    4. Something with too little substance to provide support in a crisis: Near the end we were grasping at straws.

  2. Something, such as a hat or basket, made of straw.

  3. A slender tube used for sucking up a liquid.

    1. Something of minimal value or importance.

    2. Something with too little substance to provide support in a crisis: Near the end we were grasping at straws.

adj.  

  1. Of, relating to, or made of straw: a straw mat.

  2. Containing or used for straw, as a barn or feeding trough.

  3. Of the color of straw; yellowish.

  4. Having little or no value or substance; unimportant.

  5. Of, relating to, or constituting a straw man.


[Middle English, from Old English strēaw; see ster-2 in Indo-European roots.]
straw'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
last straw

  1. n.
    the final act or insult; the act that finally calls for a response. : This is the last straw. I'm calling the police.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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