A drowning man will catch at a straw.
Meaning: Desperation drives people to grasp at even the most fragile solutions when facing catastrophe.
Origin: Thomas More wrote in 1534 of a man in peril of drowning catching at whatever comes next to hand, "be it never so simple a stick." The straw arrived in 1583, when the cleric John Prime wrote of men ready to drown who "catch at every straw." A straw cannot hold anyone up, which is the point: desperation grabs at any hope, however useless.
More proverbs about Challenge
- Drink water like an ox, wine like a king of Spain. — Quench thirst with plain necessity; reserve indulgence for rare, celebratory moments.
- He who drinks when he is not dry, will be dry when he has no drink. — Wasteful indulgence during abundance ensures deprivation when scarcity arrives.
- Drive not a second nail till the first is clenched. — Complete each task fully before beginning another, ensuring solid progress rather than sc…
- It is ill meddling with edged tools. — Dabbling with dangerous instruments without skill or caution invites injury and regret.
- An empty purse fills the face with wrinkles. — Poverty's hardships and anxieties visibly age a person through stress and deprivation.
- If you must have an evil, choose a little one. — Small harms wisely accepted spare you from greater suffering later.
From our tongue twisters
- Mit sütsz, kis szűcs? Tán sós húst sütsz, kis szűcs? — An 'sz / s / ts' sibilant duel — Hungarian's two close s-sounds collide in every word.
- Ibsens ripsbusker og andre buskvekster. — An 'sb / sk / busk' cluster trap that jams the tongue between the bushes.
- Rødgrød med fløde. — The legendary soft-d and rounded 'ø' test — the phrase Danes use to spot a non-native ins…