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grasp at straws
Slang Dictionary

straw definition


  1. n.
    marijuana. (Drugs.) : He stood right on the corner, selling straw by the handful from a bucket at his feet—and nobody even called the cops. , This straw is not the best quality I've seen.
  2. n.
    papers for rolling marijuana cigarettes. (Drugs.) : I can't manage the straw with one hand. How do these cowboys do it?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

grasp at straws

Also, clutch at straws. Make a desperate attempt at saving oneself. For example, He had lost the argument, but he kept grasping at straws, naming numerous previous cases that had little to do with this one. This metaphoric expression alludes to a drowning person trying to save himself by grabbing at flimsy reeds. First recorded in 1534, the term was used figuratively by the late 1600s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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