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.

Here was no shadowy depth of a ravine, but a broad plain,—a watery plain, into which the heavily weighted horses and riders sank, rising to cry for help and catch at straws.

From A Boy's Ride by Zollinger, Gulielma

It was a faint hope, but drowning men catch at straws.

From Hot corn: Life Scenes in New York Illustrated by Robinson, Solon

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

Not a few joined it, indeed, as a last resort, after having tried every thing else, as drowning men are said to catch at straws.

From Vegetable Diet: As Sanctioned by Medical Men, and by Experience in All Ages Including a System of Vegetable Cookery by Alcott, William A. (William Andrus)

V. overestimate, overrate, overvalue, overprize, overweigh, overreckon†, overstrain, overpraise; eulogize; estimate too highly, attach too much importance to, make mountains of molehills, catch at straws; strain, magnify; exaggerate &c.

From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark