grasp at straws
Try anything, hopelessly
To grasp at straws is to try anything, however unlikely, when facing difficulty or desperation.
The image is of a drowning person reaching for floating straw—useless for rescue but seized anyway.
The defense attorney was grasping at straws with that argument.
Also appears as clutch at straws or grab at straws.
- flailingUncontrolled limb movement
- desperationUtter loss of hope
- clutchingHolding tightly onto
- last-ditchFinal desperate attempt
- eleventh hourLatest possible time
act of desperation · unsupportable · futile · hopeless · losing battle · exigency · bargaining · denial · guesswork · wild guess · hail mary · shot in the dark · wishful thinking · attempting · drowning · conjecture · scrambling · speculation
- desperate measureslast resort, desperate plea, desperation move, last ditch, last chance
- farm idiomsmake hay while the sun shines, cream of the crop, put the cart before the horse, till the cows come home, buy the farm
strategic soundness
grasp at strawshold all the cards
Have overwhelming advantage
play it safe · cover all bases · know what one is doing · hedge one's bets