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Meaning of "the last straw" in the English dictionary

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PRONUNCIATION OF THE LAST STRAW

the last straw play
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WHAT DOES THE 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 THE LAST STRAW

the last
the Last Judgment
the last laugh
the Last Supper
the last trump
the last word
the Lateran
the latest
the law
the least
the Lebanon
the Lesser Antilles
the letter
the Levant
the Levellers
the life and soul
the life of Riley
the like
the likes of
the limelight

WORDS THAT END LIKE THE 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
last straw
man of straw
short straw
straw
windlestraw

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

SYNONYMS

Translation of «the last straw» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF THE LAST STRAW

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

Translator English - Chinese

最后一根稻草
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

la última gota
570 millions of speakers

English

the 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

a última gota
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

শেষ খড়
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

la dernière paille
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Jerami yang terakhir
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

der 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

Jerami sing pungkasan
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

rơm cuối cùng
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

கடைசி வைக்கோல்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

शेवटीची नळी
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Bardağı taşıran son damla
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

l´ 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 picătură
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

η τελευταία σταγόνα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

die laaste strooi
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

droppen
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

den siste dråpen
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of the last straw

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «THE LAST STRAW»

The term «the last straw» is regularly used and occupies the 66.381 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
69
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «the last straw» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of the last straw
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «the last straw».

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

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

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «THE LAST STRAW»

Discover the use of the last straw in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to the last straw and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
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
2
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
3
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Greg Heffley will never change his wimpy ways... somebody just better tell Greg's dad that.
Jeff Kinney, 2009
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
Ronnie Biggs: Odd Man Out: The Last Straw
Having been released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2009, this is considered by Ronnie Biggs to be the final chapter of his life story.
Ronald Arthur Biggs, Christopher Pickard, 2011
6
The Last Straw
Middle-schooler Greg Heffley nimbly sidesteps his father's attempts to change Greg's wimpy ways until his father threatens to send him to military school.
Jeff Kinney, 2009
7
The Last Straw: And Sociability; Two Short Plays
A brilliant murder mystery.
Charles Dizenzo, 1970
8
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
9
Burning the Last Straw
Lucien Nzeyimana. did not wish to shed the blood of innocent civilians. On the other hand, he hated to keep destroying the infrastructure as reconstruction would cost a lot of time and money. Now that the biggest forest was in ashes, the Super ...
Lucien Nzeyimana, 2013
10
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

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «THE LAST STRAW»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term the last straw is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Surely Not the Last Straw at Pitti Uomo
“A short brim and a high crown was two years ago,” Giacomo Tesi, a fifth-generation hatter, said on June 17 at the main pavilion of Pitti Uomo, the big men's ... «New York Times, Jun 15»
2
Iowa Straw Poll Is Canceled for This Year
Michele Bachmann won the last straw poll, followed by Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. «Newsweek, Jun 15»
3
Big Sean's 'Billion Dollar P***y' Lyric The Final Straw
Sources connected with Ariana tell us ... the last straw was when Sean dropped his track, "Stay Down," in which he raps: I ain't even gonna lie, I got a million ... «TMZ.com, Apr 15»
4
GOP tradition lives on: Ames Iowa Straw Poll planned for August
The last straw poll in 2011 proved to be a false indicator, as Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann won, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul was close behind in second ... «CNN, Jan 15»
5
'The last straw' — Pakistan turns against terror
'This is the last straw!”: That's the message that Pakistanis all across the political spectrum, in a rare show of unanimity, are trying to send after the worst Islamic ... «New York Post, Dec 14»
6
Iowa Straw Poll likely to live on despite controversy
They argue that the last straw poll was nothing but a silly sideshow: It was won by Michele Bachmann, who ended up being a non-factor in the 2012 caucuses. «DesMoinesRegister.com, Dec 14»
7
Phil Robertsons Despicable AIDS Argument Should Be the Last Straw
Dangerous ignorance. Despicable, inexcusable ignorance. And the latest instance might be the straw—or perhaps stray beard hair—to break the camel's back. «Daily Beast, Sep 14»
8
'Eating pizza out of a wheelie bin was the last straw': Woman loses …
The final straw came in 2013, when Louise ate leftover pizza out of her own bin and realised she needed help. Louise, pictured on a night out with friends, ... «Daily Mail, Jul 14»
9
Iowa's GOP Governor: Time to End the Straw Poll
Eyeing the wreckage of the 2011 Ames Straw Poll, which Rep. ... Matt Strawn, the former GOP chairman who organized the last straw poll, says he backs a move ... «Wall Street Journal, Nov 12»
10
'Wimpy Kid: Last Straw' opens another 'gateway' to reading
Greg is a cartoon character and the star of Kinney's new book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (Abrams/Amulet, $14.50). The third book in the Wimpy Kid ... «USA Today, Jan 09»

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