TUESDAY TRIVIA: From Where Does the Phrase ‘Grasping at Straws’ Come?

The idiom ‘grasping at straws’ is used to mean an attempt to succeed—such as in an argument, debate or attempt at a solution—when nothing you choose is likely to work.

From where does the phrase ‘grasping at straws’ come?

It comes from a proverb in Thomas More’s “Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation” (1534) which says, “A drowning man will clutch at straws.” It is said that the “straw” in this case refers to the sort of thin reeds that grow by the side of a river.

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