draw straws

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Also, draw lots. Decide by a lottery using straws of different lengths. For example, Let's draw straws to see who will write the first draft. The lots version dates from the 1400s, whereas straws dates from the 1800s. Both have replaced the still older draw cuts. Another variant is draw the short straw, meaning to be the one so selected for a particular task.

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Words nearby draw straws

draw poker, draw runner, drawshave, drawsheet, draw shot, draw straws, drawstring, draw table, draw the curtain, draw the line, draw the line at

How to use draw straws in a sentence

In Dresden, Germany, anti-Islam rallies each week draw thousands of demonstrators.
Police Hunt for Paris Massacre Suspects|Tracy McNicoll, Christopher Dickey|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Anyone who tries to draw attention to threats instead of quietly burying them is worsening the problem.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism|Arthur Chu|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sting took over the lead role to try to draw an audience, but his thumpingly inspirational score was already the hero of the show.
Hedwig, Hugh & Michael Cera: 12 Powerhouse Theater Performances of 2014|Janice Kaplan|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In another year, stories about the strange new face of an A-list actress might draw chortles and cackles.
Renée Zellweger Got a New Face—and Everyone Had An Opinion About It|Kevin O’Keeffe|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Neither officer had “the opportunity to draw their weapons,” according to police reports.
Alleged Cop Killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley Had a Death Wish|M.L. Nestel|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was one of those long moments that makes a fellow draw his breath sharp when he thinks about it afterward.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Instead of writing slander and flat blasphemy, they propose to draw it, and not draw it mild.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
It seems hardly possible to draw a more graphic picture of the blessings diffused by the balmy plant, than that just given.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
I only draw your attention to the facts; which have been sufficiently patent to the world, whatever Lord Hartledon may think.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
They heard how in the early spring in the meadow by the mill-dam Tim and I had stopped our ploughs to draw lots and he had lost.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd

draw straws

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How to use draw straws in a sentence