last straw
noun
the last of a succession of irritations, incidents, remarks, etc., that leads to a loss of patience, a disaster, etc.: He has been late before, but this is the last straw.
QUIZZES
WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM
Think you know your presidents? Take this quiz and see if you can match the style, wit, and ideology of these memorable lines to the right POTUS.
Question 1 of 9
“I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Origin of last straw
First recorded in 1840–50; after the proverb “It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back”
Words nearby last straw
last out, last post, last quarter, last resort, last rites, last straw, Last Supper, last thing, Last Things, last word, Las Vegas
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for last straw
Did we waste time talking about it, discussing our chances, or mildly anathematising our last-straw luck?
Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front|E. W. HornungWith a last-straw expression Mrs. Wyburn drew herself up to her full height.
The Limit|Ada Leverson
British Dictionary definitions for last straw
last straw
noun
the last straw the final irritation or problem that stretches one's endurance or patience beyond the limit
Word Origin for last straw
from the proverb, "It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back"
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012