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straw
(redirected from grasps at straws)

   Also found in: Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
straw  (strô)
n.
1.
a. Stalks of threshed grain, used as bedding and food for animals, for thatching, and for weaving or braiding, as into baskets.
b. A single stalk of threshed grain.
2. Something, such as a hat or basket, made of straw.
3. A slender tube used for sucking up a liquid.
4.
a. Something of minimal value or importance.
b. 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.
Idioms:
final/last straw
The final annoyance or setback, which even though minor makes one lose patience.
straw in the wind
A slight hint of something to come.

[Middle English, from Old English straw; see ster-2 in Indo-European roots.]

strawy adj.

straw
Noun
1. dried stalks of threshed grain, such as wheat or barley
2. a single stalk of straw
3. a long thin hollow paper or plastic tube, used for sucking up liquids into the mouth
4. clutch at straws to turn in desperation to something with little chance of success
5. draw the short straw to be the person chosen to perform an unpleasant task
Adjective
made of straw: straw baskets [Old English strēaw]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.strawstraw - plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
cushioning, padding - artifact consisting of soft or resilient material used to fill or give shape or protect or add comfort
plant fiber, plant fibre - fiber derived from plants
2.strawstraw - material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
bran - broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting
plant material, plant substance - material derived from plants
3.strawstraw - a variable yellow tint; dull yellow, often diluted with white
yellow, yellowness - yellow color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of sunflowers or ripe lemons
4.strawstraw - a thin paper or plastic tube used to suck liquids into the mouth
tube, tubing - conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases
Verb1.straw - cover or provide with or as if with straw; "cows were strawed to weather the snowstorm"
cover - provide with a covering or cause to be covered; "cover her face with a handkerchief"; "cover the child with a blanket"; "cover the grave with flowers"
2.straw - spread by scattering ("straw" is archaic); "strew toys all over the carpet"
bestrew - cover by strewing
litter - make a place messy by strewing garbage around
spread, distribute - distribute or disperse widely; "The invaders spread their language all over the country"
Adj.1.straw - of a pale yellow color like straw; straw-colored
chromatic - being or having or characterized by hue
Translations

straw [strɔː] npaja;
(drinking straw) → caña, pajita;
that's the last straw! → ¡eso es el colmo!
straw [strɔː] npaille f;
that's the last straw! → ça c'est le comble!
straw [strɔː] nStroh nt;
(also: drinking straw) → Strohhalm m;
that's the last straw! → das ist der Gipfel!
straw [strɔː] npaglia (= drinking straw); cannuccia;
that's the last straw! → è la goccia che fa traboccare il vaso!

straw
n straw [stroː]
1 (also adjective) (of) the cut stalks of corn etc, having many uses, eg as bedding for cattle etc, making mats and other goods etc The cows need fresh straw; a straw hat.strooi, hooiقَشсламаsláma, slaměnýhalm; strå; strå-das Stroh, Stroh-...άχυρο, αχυρένιος, ψάθινοςpajaõlgپوشالoljet(de) pailleקַשपायल, पुआल, भूसा, घास-फूसslamaszalmajeramihálmurpaglia; di pagliaわら짚(의), 밀짚(의)šiaudai; šiaudinissalms; salmi; salmu-jeramistrostrå, halmsłomapalhapaieсоломаslama; slamenýslamaslamahalmสิ่งที่ทำจากฟางsaman稻草,麥稈соломаبھوساrơm
2 a single stalk of corn There's a straw in your hair; Their offer isn't worth a straw!strooiقَشَّهсламкаstéblostråder Strohhalmάχυροpajakõrsكاهoljenkorsipailleגִבעוֹל קַשतिनका, तृणslamkaszalmaszáljeramihálmstrápagliuzza; nullaわら지푸라기 하나šiaudasViņu piedāvājums nav plika graša vērts.jeramistrootjehalmstråsłomapalhapaiсоломинкаstebloslamnata bilkaslamkahalmstrå, [] ruttet lingonฟางsaman çöpü一根草соломинкаتنکاcọng, mẩu rơm
3 a paper or plastic tube through which to suck a drink into the mouth He was sipping orange juice through a straw.strooitjie, rietjieقَشَّة لِشُرْب العَصير من القَنّينَهсламка за пиенеbrčkosugerørder Strohhalmκαλαμάκιpaja, pajita(joogi)kõrsنيpillipailleקָשִיתपीने की नलीslamčicaszívószálsedotan(sog)rörcannucciaストロー빨대, 스트로šiaudelis(kokteiļu) salmiņšstrawrietjesugerørsłomkapalhinhapaiсоломинкаslamkaslamicaslamčicasugrörหลอดkamış吸管соломинкаکاغذ کی پلاسٹک کی نلکی جس سے کوءی مشروب پیتے ہیںnống hút
the last straw
an additional and intolerable circumstance in a disagreeable situation The hotel was expensive, the food poor, and the bad weather was the last straw.laaste strooiالطّامَةُ الكُبْرىпоследната капка, която прелива чашатаposlední kapkasidste stråetwas, das gerade noch gefehlt hatη σταγόνα που ξεχείλισε το ποτήριel colmo, la gota que colma el vasoviimane tilkتلنگر آخرviimeinen pisarala goutte d'eau qui fait déborder le vaseהַקַש שֶׁשָבַר אֶת גַב הַגָמָלऔर भार सहन न होनाposljednja kap (od koje se prelila čaša)utolsó csepp a pohárbantambahan keburukansíðasta hálmstráið(l'ultima goccia)とどめの一小事(한도를 넘은) 마지막의 한가닥 무게; 설상가상paskutinis lašaspēdējais piliens kausā; pēdējā nagla zārkātidak tahande druppel die de emmer doet overlopendråpen som får begeret til å flyte overostatnia kroplaa última gotapicătură care umple paharulпоследняя капляposledná kvapkakaplja čez robposlednja kapdroppen som fick bägaren att rinna överสถานการณ์ที่ซึ่งสุดจะทนได้bardağı taşıran son damla使人不能忍受的增加負擔остання крапляکسی ناموافق صورتحال میں ایک اضافی اور ناگزیر موقعہcái thêm vào sau cùng là cái nặng nhất使

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The Advocate grasps at straws to find the queer content in popular media and ends up jumping on any mention of the word gay.
 
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