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Meaning of "draw the short straw" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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PRONUNCIATION OF DRAW THE SHORT STRAW

draw the short straw play
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WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE DRAW THE SHORT STRAW

draw a bead on
draw a blank
draw a line in the sand
draw and quarter
draw gear
draw in
draw in one´s horns
draw off
draw on
draw out
draw poker
draw someone´s fire
draw stumps
draw the crabs
draw the line
draw the shot
draw trumps
draw up
draw-gate
draw-sheet

WORDS THAT END LIKE DRAW THE SHORT STRAW

a drowning man will clutch at a straw
bedstraw
bendy straw
cheese straw
drinking straw
jackstraw
lady´s bedstraw
last straw
man of straw
short straw
straw
the last straw
windlestraw

Synonyms and antonyms of draw the short straw in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «draw the short straw» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF DRAW THE SHORT STRAW

Find out the translation of draw the short straw to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of draw the short straw from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «draw the short straw» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

画下签
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

dibujar la paja más corta
570 millions of speakers

English

draw the short straw
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

कम पुआल आकर्षित
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

رسم القش القصير
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

нарисовать короткую соломинку
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

tirar a palha curta
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

ছোট খড় আঁকা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

tirer à la courte paille
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Tarik jerami yang pendek
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

den Kürzeren ziehen
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

貧乏くじを引く
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

짧은 빨대 를 그립니다
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Tarik jerami cendhak
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

vẽ rơm ngắn
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

குறுகிய வைக்கோலை வரையவும்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

लहान पेंढा काढणे
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Kısa saman çiz
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

disegnare la paglia corta
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

narysować krótką słomę
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

намалювати коротку соломинку
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

trage paiul scurt
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

επιστήσει την σύντομη άχυρο
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

trek aan die kortste end
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

dra det kortaste strået
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

trekke kort halm
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of draw the short straw

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «DRAW THE SHORT STRAW»

The term «draw the short straw» is normally little used and occupies the 110.463 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Little used
49
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «draw the short straw» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of draw the short straw
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «draw the short straw».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «DRAW THE SHORT STRAW» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «draw the short straw» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «draw the short straw» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about draw the short straw

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DRAW THE SHORT STRAW»

Discover the use of draw the short straw in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to draw the short straw and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
A Collection of Confusible Phrases
... so that one can start again: Vicky and I agreed to draw the line under our disagreements and try to look towards our future together. draw the short straw get the short end of the stick draw the short straw be chosen from a number of people to ...
Yuri Dolgopolov, 2004
2
Short Straw Bride (Mills & Boon Vintage 90s Historical)
... he murmured. Andright there infrontof Godand the citizens of Black Dog, Luke McLain kissed his bride, thanking the Lord forthe wisdom thathad madehim draw the short straw. * * * * *
Dallas Schulze, 2012
3
What Did You Say? What Do You Mean?: An Illustrated Guide to ...
If you draw the short straw, it means that you have been chosen to do a task that no one wants to do. Why does it mean this? This expression comes from a way of drawing lots to decide on something by chance. A person holds several pieces ...
Jude Welton, 2004
4
Idiomatic Expressions with English Grammar' 99 Ed.
... getting ready to make a comparison to say no more about something to punish one severely to separate to pull away from to withdraw (v); a disadvantage (n) to wound to draw lots DRAW THE SHORT STRAW DRAW THE SHORT STRAW ...
Cruz, Et Al
5
Love Never-Ending
You draw the short straw?” Bish opened the blue jar and sniffed. “It doesn't smell bad.” “Short straw? I'm not familiar with that expression.” “Everyone in a group draws a stick or straw to decide an action. The one with the short straw gets stuck  ...
Anny Cook, 2009
6
Cracking the GED
Let's try a problem: 9 workers decide to draw straws to see who will be the one to stay late and clean up. If there are 9 straws, 8 long and 1 short, what is the probability that Jim, who goes first, will draw the short straw? (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) 1 18 1 9 ...
Geoff Martz, 2005
7
Catalyst
He knew he had to get over it, but, just once, he wished he wouldn't draw the short straw. Just once James wanted to sit there and see the look on their faces and watch as their hearts sank and their stomachs churned. He wanted to see the  ...
John Evans, 2009
8
Oxford Dictionary of English
phrases clutch (or grasp or catch) at straws be in such a desperate situation as to resort to even the most unlikely means of salvation. [from the proverb a drowning man will clutch at a straw.] draw the short straw be the unluckiest of a ...
Angus Stevenson, 2010
9
Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins
The person who ends up being chosen to perform an unpleasant task can be said to draw the short straw, from drawing lots by holding several straws of varying lengths with one end concealed in your hand and then inviting people to take one ...
Julia Cresswell, 2010
10
Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms
British informal a brick short of a load: see BRICK. bring (or pull) someone up short make someone check or pause abruptly. draw the short straw: see STRAW. fall short (of): see FALL. get (or have) someone by the short and curlies (or short ...
John Ayto, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DRAW THE SHORT STRAW»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term draw the short straw is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Shark Week After Dark Host Eli Roth Talks Swimming With Sharks …
And no, he didn't just draw the short straw — he wanted to take the plunge. "I was so excited!" Roth told HuffPost Live in an interview on ... «Us Magazine, Jul 15»
2
Jamesie O'Connor: Cork can exorcise their demons and overcome …
Someone had to draw the short straw, and the big game next Saturday sees Cork travel to Wexford Park to determine who the first major ... «Irish Independent, Jun 15»
3
Netball: Magic faces sudden-death semifinal
The Swifts lost to the Queensland Firebirds to draw the short straw to travel to Hamilton but Fitzgerald is not reading too much into the loss. «New Zealand Herald, Jun 15»
4
The Pro and the Con: Debating Chris Petersen's Recruitment …
The sad part of these "The Pro and The Con" pieces is that it is a sure bet that one of our lucky contributors is going to draw the short straw and ... «UW Dawg Pound, Jun 15»
5
Jarrod Croker says Raiders tired of refs' calls
"It is hard for the players and sometimes you draw the short straw and get a penalty drawn against you. But other times it can work in your ... «TVNZ, May 15»
6
Rock & Country fest was great; here's how to make it better
Plus, it's kind of the nature of these things that the openers draw the short straw. “Early bands have small crowds, but if I was going to do it again ... «The Bakersfield Californian, May 15»
7
sailors recount dramatic sea rescue
He didn't really say much, but Cookie looked at him and goes: 'What did you do to draw the short straw?'" But Lieutenant Simon Wasley had not ... «Stuff.co.nz, May 15»
8
'Mad Men' Finale: What Was Awesome, What Was Frustrating And …
Did too many other characters get relatively happy endings and someone had to draw the short straw? In any event, why did Joan have to face ... «Huffington Post, May 15»
9
Central Highlands farmers waiting on rain to plant
Mr Spackman said farmers south of Emerald seemed to draw the short straw. "Generally speaking, south of Emerald wasn't as good as the ... «Central Queensland news, May 15»
10
Bob Bowlsby, Big 12 set to confront title game issue
Bowlsby recognized the possibility that the Big 12 would draw the short straw some years. He didn't expect it to be the first year, nor that the ... «ESPN, May 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Draw the short straw [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/draw-the-short-straw>. May 2024 ».
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