short straw
Britishnoun
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.
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
How it went down in the hall: Tugendhat drew the short straw by being selected to go first and he had to warm the crowd up.
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2024
So, they have a point to prove and Denver drew the short straw.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2022
I look at writers like Ian McEwan or Charles Dickens or Kazuo Ishiguro – the great writers – and I think to myself that I've drawn the short straw being the populist murder mystery writer.
From Salon • Nov. 21, 2022
“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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
