catch at straws

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Yet some old and tried soldiers laughed and said, "Drowning men catch at straws; and this good fellow thinks to talk himself out of gaol."

From The Adventurous Simplicissimus being the description of the Life of a Strange vagabond named Melchior Sternfels von Fuchshaim by Grimmelshausen, Hans Jacob Christoph von

The American Board, I am sorry to feel and think, are good at attempting to catch at straws when important missionary objects have been faithfully placed before them.

From A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information by Gray, William Henry

But at the time I thought of none of these things—"drowning men will catch at straws," says the old adage—and my hastily formed plan seemed to me to promise success.

From Seven and Nine years Among the Camanches and Apaches An Autobiography by Johnson, Clark, M.D.

Drowning men catch at straws, and the spectacled visage of the auctioneer, as he clings wildly to his rostrum, is a perfect study of terrified imbecility.

From English Caricaturists and Graphic Humourists of the Nineteenth Century. How they Illustrated and Interpreted their Times. by Everitt, Graham

It is said drowning men catch at straws; the idea immediately came across my mind that, with the support of the stick, I should be enabled to effect my escape.

From The Emigrant's Lost Son or, Life Alone in the Forest by Anonymous