short straw

British

noun

to be the person (as in drawing lots) to whom an unwelcome task or fate falls

"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

Example Sentences

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short straw

Sometimes in life, you draw the short straw.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

But experts contacted by AFP said Ecuador may draw the short straw in its standoff with Colombia, whose ministry of mines and energy announced a suspension of "international electricity transactions" with the neighboring country.

From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026

ITV entertainment reporter Ross King told his dance partner Jowita Przystal "you drew the short straw" when it was revealed they would be dancing together on Saturday.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025

“But some people are going to draw the short straw with any drug or vaccine, and we need to take care of them.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2021

“I just got on a master’s bad side. He made sure I drew the short straw for this little trip.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023