What is the meaning of the idiomatic expression last straw?
Definition of the final/last straw : the last in a series of bad things that happen to make someone very upset, angry, etc. It had been a difficult week, so when the car broke down, it was the last straw.
Is the last straw a metaphor?
This turn of phrase originated in the longer proverb the last straw breaks the camel’s back, a metaphor suggesting that there is a threshold to the burdens we can bear and that even the smallest additional burden beyond that threshold can break us.
Where does the expression the final straw come from?
The origin of the idiom ‘the last straw’ can be found in the old English proverb, “it is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.” It was first seen around 1755, and many different forms of the statement were used between then and about 1836, with the suffering animal occasionally described as a horse or an …
What does straw mean in slang?
Frequency: Something of little or no value; worthless trifle. noun. 2. 3.
Where does the expression the straw that broke the camel’s back come from?
Arabic
According to Wikipedia, the straw that broke the camel’s back is from an Arabic proverb about “how a camel is loaded beyond its capacity to move or stand”. It is a “reference to any process by which cataclysmic failure (a broken back) is achieved by a seemingly inconsequential addition, a single straw.
How do you use final straw in a sentence?
the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation: Losing my job was bad enough, but being evicted was the final straw. She’s always been rude to me, but it was the last straw when she started insulting my mother.
What is another word for straw?
In this page you can discover 28 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for straw, like: hay, stramineous, culm, fodder, strawlike, mulch, stalk, silage, litter, platting and sennet.
What is the Russian straw?
A set of ancient gold and silver tubes dating to about 5,500 years ago and unearthed in North Caucasus in Russia could be the world’s oldest surviving drinking straws, experts have claimed. Four of the tubes also feature gold or silver bull figurines that have been slid on to them.
What does the term Bob’s your uncle mean?
Definition of and Bob’s your uncle British, informal. —used to say that something is easy to do or use Just complete the form, pay the fee, and Bob’s your uncle!
What does the idiom beating around the bush mean?
to avoid giving a definite answer or position. Please stop beating around the bush and tell me the full story.