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Meaning of "last straw" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LAST STRAW

From the proverb, "It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back".
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF LAST STRAW

last straw play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LAST STRAW

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Last straw is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES LAST STRAW MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Straw that broke the camel's back

The idiom the straw that broke the camel's back is from an Arabic proverb about how a camel is loaded beyond its capacity to move or stand. This is a reference to any process by which cataclysmic failure is achieved by a seemingly inconsequential addition, a single straw. This also gives rise to the phrase "the last/final straw", used when something is deemed to be the last in a line of unacceptable occurrences. Variations include "the straw that broke the donkey's back", the "melon that broke the monkey's back", the "feather that broke the camel's back", and the "straw that broke the horse's back". One of the earliest published usages of this phrase was in Charles Dickens's Dombey and Son, where he says "As the last straw breaks the laden camel's back", meaning that there is a limit to everyone's endurance, or everyone has his breaking-point. Dickens was writing in the nineteenth century and he may have received his inspiration from an earlier proverb, recorded by Thomas Fuller in his Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs as "'Tis the last feather that breaks the horse's back".

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE LAST STRAW

last but not least
last but one
last chance saloon
Last Day
last ditch
last honours
Last Judgement
Last Judgment
last knockings
last name
last out
last post
last quarter
last resort
last resting place
last rites
Last Supper
last thing
last-born
last-cyclic

WORDS THAT END LIKE LAST STRAW

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

Synonyms and antonyms of last straw in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «last straw» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF LAST STRAW

Find out the translation of last straw to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of last 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 «last straw» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

最后一根稻草
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

última gota
570 millions of speakers

English

last straw
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

पिछले भूसे
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

القشة الأخيرة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

последней каплей
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

última gota
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

শেষ খড়
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

dernière paille
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Jerami yang terakhir
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

letzte Strohhalm
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

最後の藁
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

마지막으로 밀짚
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Pungkasan jerami
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

rơm cuối cùng
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

கடைசி துரும்பு
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

अंतिम पेंढा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Bardağı taşıran son damla
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

ultima goccia
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

ostatni słomy
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

останньою краплею
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

ultima paie
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

τελευταία σταγόνα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

laaste strooi
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

droppen
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

siste dråpen
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of last straw

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «LAST STRAW»

The term «last straw» is regularly used and occupies the 69.516 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
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100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
68
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «last straw» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of last straw
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «last straw».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «LAST STRAW» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «last straw» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «last 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 last straw

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LAST STRAW»

Discover the use of last straw in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to last straw and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Last Straw
“The Pattersons of For Better or For Worse have edged out the Bumsteads as the first family of the funnies.” —Life “The clear favorite in terms of popularity is a slice-of-life humor strip, For Better or For Worse, cartoonist Lynn ...
Lynn Johnston, 1985
2
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into a new year and a new school where undersize weaklings share the corridors with kids who are taller, meaner and already shaving.
Jeff Kinney, 2009
3
The Last Straw
The story of Hoshmakaka, a proud old camel who has to carry the wise men's gift's to the new baby king in Bethlehem.
Fredrick H. Thury, 2004
4
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Greg and his family and friends, who make the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books a must-read for middle school readers, are back and at their best in this hilarious new installment of the series, which is sure to please current fans while ...
Jeff Kinney, 2009
5
Sisters of the Last Straw: The Case of the Haunted Chapel
That's what the newly formed Sisters of the Last Straw must discover when eerie voices are heard in their convent. The Sisters of the Last Straw are a group of misfit nuns who struggle with their problems while seeking to love Jesus more.
Karen Kelly Boyce, 2013
6
The Last Straw in Egypt: A Rhyming Play about Moses and Pharaoh
Here is a service for that Sunday when you want to do something different, but are not sure what. It includes a congregational responsive reading, a sermon, a prayer, and a rhyming drama that requires no memorization.
Lynda Pujadó, 1999
7
First Person, Last Straw
It''''s the author''''s most offensive material to date, and will most likely be banned pending publication. If you''''re holding this book right now, hide it in your shirt or it will be confiscated!
Tom Waters, 2005
8
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw:
Greg and his family and friends, who make the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books a must-read for middle school readers, are back and at their best in this hilarious new installment of the series, which is sure to please current fans while ...
Jeff Kinney, 2012
9
The Last Straw
Praise for THE LAST STRAW “A tender and emotional story that features one of the funniest scenes I've ever read — I laughed for five minutes straight!” ~Isabella Lionel “THE LAST STRAW is fabulous fun, thanks tothe smart, witty banter ...
Nia Simone, 2013
10
Burning the Last Straw
Lucien Nzeyimana. General Almaliza sent Lieutenant Colonel Alfan to lead an expedition to the pursuit of the other warriors. Rasheed led one of the backup battalions. They had to walk ten miles through thick forests to reach the foothills of  ...
Lucien Nzeyimana, 2013

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LAST STRAW»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term last straw is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Monaghan hold on to dethrone Donegal in Ulster | BreakingNews.ie
The last straw came when Toye, who had been so good in the run-up to the final, was hounded for a ball which ended up over Paul Durcan's ... «BreakingNews.ie, Jul 15»
2
Navarrette: Our trust in Mexico should vanish like 'El Chapo …
El Chapo's "escape" should be the absolute last straw in the farcical partnership between the United States and Mexico in a drug war that has ... «Longview News-Journal, Jul 15»
3
Lindsey Graham Defends John McCain: 'Being Captured Doesn't …
Graham said Trump's latest antics were the last straw. "I can understand being frustrated about immigration, but there's no justification to ... «Huffington Post, Jul 15»
4
M & R Station open for business in Wausau - Wausau Daily Herald
They previously owned and ran the Athens bar Last Straw for more than a decade. “Our last bar was a very family-friendly bar,” Mary Gordon ... «Wausau Daily Herald, Jul 15»
5
Farmer's wife blames bank for husband's suicide - The Hindu
This was the last straw and since that day my husband was upset and not to his usual self,” she said. Notice issued. She said that the bank had ... «The Hindu, Jul 15»
6
Second thoughts: Film debut gets James rave review
The lighting issues caused delays of 82 minutes and 40 minutes, with the third outage being the last straw. The game was suspended until ... «Arkansas Online, Jul 15»
7
Donald Trump Causes More Campaign Chaos With John McCain …
This is seemingly has to be the last straw from his last gop rivals. Cecilia Vega is here. Reporter: Good morning, guys, another week, another ... «ABC News, Jul 15»
8
Brazil Times: Blog: IMO: Have we become a society of loners?
The last straw was watching a serious-looking man, whom I had just held the door open for going into the store, not extend the same courtesy ... «Brazil Times, Jul 15»
9
Author drops UCL from £1m will over Sir Tim Hunt's treatment …
... president Jeremy Hornsby says University College London's treatment of Sir Tim Hunt, the Nobel-prize winning scientist was the 'last straw'. «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»
10
Scott Disick claims women at his house 'were there for a music video …
... tired of her boyfriend's endless partying and the photographs of him caressing Bartoli, who is said to be an old flame, were the last straw. «Daily Mail, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Last straw [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/last-straw>. Apr 2024 ».
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