grasp at
phr. v..phr. v.. to try to grab something quickly, or to try very hard to find a reason or solution when you are desperate.
phr. v.. to reach out suddenly to seize something; figuratively, to attempt to find or use something (such as an idea or excuse) because of a lack of better options.
He reached out to grasp at the falling keys.
As the company failed, the manager began to grasp at any excuse to blame the market.
The witness, clearly flustered by the cross-examination, began to grasp at increasingly improbable details to support his original testimony.
often used figuratively with abstract nouns like 'straws', 'ideas', or 'excuses'.
introduce the common idiom 'grasping at straws' to help students understand the connotation of desperation and futility often associated with this phrase.
He grasped at of the rope.He grasped at the rope.the preposition 'at' is followed directly by the object without adding 'of'.