grasp at straws
To guess randomly or pursue any apparent option, due to a lack of clear choices or information.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He has no evidence, so he is just grasping at straws.”
“You are grasping at straws if you think that old map still works.”
“With no leads left to follow, the detective began grasping at straws to solve the mystery.”
“When the car engine died in the middle of the desert, they started grasping at straws by checking the radio wires for a solution.”
“The doctor admitted she was grasping at straws when she suggested the patient's rare allergy might be caused by a specific type of house paint.”
“In a desperate attempt to justify his failed policy, the politician grasped at straws, citing irrelevant data from a decade ago.”
first recorded 16th c.
The expression emerges from the 1534 work A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, written by Thomas More. It refers to the physical desperation of a drowning man who, in the absence of a sturdy timber, will attempt to seize even a floating straw to remain buoyant. More employed the image to describe a mind reaching for any slight hope, however flimsy the material might be.
- 01
bang straw
A farmer's servant, especially a thresher.
- 02
buy straw hats in winter
Of stocks, to buy when both demand and price are low, so as to sell when demand and price are high.
- 03
draw the short straw
To be selected to do an undesirable task (by drawing the shortest straw or otherwise).
- 04
last straw
A small addition to an already heavy burden which causes it to exceed the capacity.
- 05
make bricks without straw
To accomplish a task without the proper materials or under unreasonable conditions; to do the impossible.
- 06
straw poll
A survey of opinion or a vote that is nonbinding, unofficial, casual, or ad hoc.
- 07
straw that stirs the drink
The person who stimulates or inspires a group; the major factor affecting a trend or set of developments.
- 08
the straw that broke the camel's back
A small and seemingly insignificant addition to a burden that renders it too much to bear; the small thing which causes failure, or causes inability or unwillingness to endure any more of something.
Last updated August 10, 2026