last straw
One too many
The last straw is the final minor irritation that makes a situation unbearable—the one that triggers action after accumulated frustrations.
From the proverb about the straw that broke the camel's back: any single straw weighs nothing, but eventually one more tips the balance.
The parking ticket was the last straw—I'm moving out of this city.
- breaking pointMoment of collapse
- snapSudden sharp sound
- lose itSuccumb to overwhelming emotion
- blow a fuseLose control from anger
- tipping pointThreshold triggering major change
crack · intolerable · boiling point · undoing · enough · limit · thin ice · powder keg · insufferable · frustration · buildup · death knell · escalation · unbearable · coup de grâce · accumulation · downfall · overload
- Last Strawsfed up, breaking point, no more, tipping point, enough already
- At My Limitfed up, had it, breaking point, done, finished
- exasperationugh, sigh, groan, argh, geez
- 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
- Had Enoughfed up, done, burnout, exhaustion, drained
- life triggerstrigger, catalyst, spark, turning point, inciting incident
last strawdrop in the bucket
Insignificant portion of total
minor inconvenience · water off a duck's back · no big deal · non-issue · forgivable offense
last strawturning point
Decisive moment of change
breakthrough · olive branch · saving grace · reprieve · second chance