Comments on: Grasping at straws

By: Butterface

Butterface — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 09:47:03 +0000

Your mom was grasping at straws.

By: R. Springfield

R. Springfield — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:17:12 +0000

On a whim i googled the phrase and found your site. I was flattered to find out your definition is the one i had been thinking of. Thanks

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:57:41 +0000

You were grasping at straws when you wrote that rebuttal.

By: Janis

Janis — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:57:30 +0000

There is no logic in your metaphor, misuse of the meaning of the phrase, you miss the point. Re-phrase your phrase, please.

By: Dwight

Dwight — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:06:42 +0000

The 1534 quote from More is: “A man in peril of drowning catchest whatsoever cometh next to hand… be it never so simple a stick.” He never mentioned or used the word “straw” in his writings, which were always monumentally more colorful than the citation, “a drowning man will catch at straws.”

For more on this topic read here.

Thanks for all your hard work, Word Detective!

By: Grasping At Straws (Why You Can’t Get In) — S. Anthony Iannarino

Grasping At Straws (Why You Can’t Get In) — S. Anthony Iannarino — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:43:27 +0000

[...] This is simply grasping at straws. [...]

By: doris moretti

doris moretti — Wed, 04 May 2011 20:00:00 +0000

My situation was becoming more desperate, and I was grabbing at straws to try prove my innocence.

By: Barry

Barry — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:39:29 +0000

Like a fat lady in a milkshake shop, I was grasping at straws!

By: To Accomplish What? | More: Love. Life. Action.

To Accomplish What? | More: Love. Life. Action. — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:58:28 +0000

[...] of came out when I was typing. I was immediately unconvinced that this was even a real saying, but The Word Detective put my mind at [...]

By: Claire Murphy

Claire Murphy — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:07:38 +0000

Actually from Sir Thomas More, in 1534 “a drowning man will catch at straws”