Grasping at straws is one last attempt to save yourself from the complete and utter embarrassment of failure. Frankly, it is a position you do not want to be in. And yet, the act of straw grasping remains quite common. Sometimes the straws are successfully grasped…and sometimes they aren’t. You might say that grasping at straws comes from plastic drinking straws, or bails of straw, or even straw hats. Well, if you guessed any of those things, then you will be grasping at straws.
The phrase actually comes from an Old English proverb dating back to the 16th century. The straw refers to the thin grass that grows on riverbanks. At the time, it was common for men to get swept away in the swift river current. Once in the water, things looked bleak. There were no life jackets, no swim floaties, no inflatable inner tubes, and mermaids rarely ventured upstream. So the drowning man was left with one option. He frantically grasped at the grass as a last resort. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn’t. Hence the phrase, grasping at straws and the desperation forever associated with it.
So now you know where we get the phrase ‘grasping at straws’! (And hopefully you’ll never need to use it.)
