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grasp at straws

verb

Etymology

In reference to a drowning person grabbing any floating object, even a straw, to save themselves. First used by Thomas More in A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (1534).

Definitions

  1. To guess randomly or pursue any apparent option, due to a lack of clear choices or…

    To guess randomly or pursue any apparent option, due to a lack of clear choices or information.

    • I've never met his mother, so I'm grasping at straws for an appropriate gift for her.

  2. To obtain any form of help, even if it is insignificant.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for grasp at straws. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA