the last straw |
UPDATED: JULY 22
MEANING:
Something happens (again) and you decide to you have had enough!
Also known as ‘The Final Straw,’ the phrase ‘The Last Straw’ is used to describe the last of a series of undesirable or unpleasant events that makes you come to the realization that you can no longer accept a situation that has been worsening for a while.
HISTORY:
The origin of the idiom 'the last straw' can be found in the old English proverb, “it is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.” It was first seen around 1755, and many different forms of the statement were used between then and about 1836, with the suffering animal occasionally described as a horse or an elephant rather than as a camel.
Go to: GINGER SITE for more information about this idiom.
Something happens (again) and you decide to you have had enough!
Also known as ‘The Final Straw,’ the phrase ‘The Last Straw’ is used to describe the last of a series of undesirable or unpleasant events that makes you come to the realization that you can no longer accept a situation that has been worsening for a while.
HISTORY:
The origin of the idiom 'the last straw' can be found in the old English proverb, “it is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.” It was first seen around 1755, and many different forms of the statement were used between then and about 1836, with the suffering animal occasionally described as a horse or an elephant rather than as a camel.
Go to: GINGER SITE for more information about this idiom.
EXAMPLES: the last straw
- You are lying to me again! That is the last straw! I want a divorce.
- The English teacher yelled at me again. That is the last straw. I'm leaving this school!
- Last my husband came home drunk. That is the 18th time this month. It was the last straw. I will divorce him.