What is a word for grasping at straws?
try anything to deal with difficult situation Synonyms: To try hard to do or get something. try. work. strive.
What is the meaning of grabbing at straws?
Make a desperate attempt at saving oneself
Make a desperate attempt at saving oneself. For example, He had lost the argument, but he kept grasping at straws, naming numerous previous cases that had little to do with this one. This metaphoric expression alludes to a drowning person trying to save himself by grabbing at flimsy reeds.
What is a good synonym for grasp?
Some common synonyms of grasp are clutch, grab, seize, snatch, and take. While all these words mean “to get hold of by or as if by catching up with the hand,” grasp stresses a laying hold so as to have firmly in possession.
Where does the phrase grasping at straws come from?
Etymology. This idiom refers to a drowning man grabbing any floating object, even a straw, to save himself. It was first used by Thomas More in A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (1534).
What is in a nutshell means?
in a very brief statement
in a nutshell. : in a very brief statement.
What best explains clutch at straws?
clutch (or grasp or catch) at straws do, say, or believe anything, however unlikely or inadequate, which seems to offer hope in a desperate situation. This expression comes from the proverb a drowning man will clutch at a straw , which is recorded in various forms since the mid 16th century.
Is it clutching or grasping at straws?
In Britain and Australia, the more common term is clutching at straws, or sometimes catching at straws. While straws might float, they will not bear the weight of a drowning man. Therefore, grasping at straws or clutching at straws refers to a futile or desperate situation.
What is the synonym of holding?
Synonyms for hold. clench, cling (to), clutch, grip.
What does grasp of something mean?
ability to understand something
the ability to understand something. have/get a grasp of something: The government has no grasp of their suffering. a good/firm/poor grasp of something: She has a good grasp of English.
Where did the saying in a nutshell come from?
This hyperbolic expression alludes to the Roman writer Pliny’s description of Homer’s Iliad being copied in so tiny a hand that it could fit in a nutshell. For a time it referred to anything compressed, but from the 1500s on it referred mainly to written or spoken words.
What does back to square one mean?
Definition of go back to square one : to start over His idea didn’t work, so he had to go back to square one.
What does beating around the bush means?
to avoid giving a definite answer or position. Please stop beating around the bush and tell me the full story.
What is a good synonym for grasping at Straws?
81 Grasping At Straws Synonyms and 1 Grasping At Straws Antonyms | Grasping At Straws in Thesaurus. divining. at guessing. at straws. by the branches. clutching at straws. grasp at. final straw.
What is an antonym for grasping?
Near Antonyms of grasping. nonmaterialistic. altruistic, bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, greathearted, handsome, liberal, magnanimous, munificent, openhanded, openhearted, selfless, unselfish, unsparing. controlled, moderate, restrained, temperate.
What is the meaning of grasping person?
having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions. a grasping person who would rather buy a car he didn’t need than give a dime to charity. Synonyms for grasping. acquisitive, avaricious, avid, coveting, covetous, grabby,