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the last straw
- The last in a series of grievances or burdens that finally exceeds the limits of endurance: “The management has given me nothing but trouble since I took this job, and now they've cut my benefits! Well, that's the last straw: I quit!†It comes from an old expression, “the straw that broke the camel's back.â€
Idioms and Phrases
The final annoyance or setback, which even though minor makes one lose patience. For example, I could put up with his delays and missed deadlines, but when he claimed the work was unimportant—that was the last straw! This term is a shortening of the straw that broke the camel's back , which conveys a vivid image of an overloaded animal being given one slight additional weight. The expression dates from the mid-1800s, and replaced the earlier the last feather that breaks the horse's back .Example Sentences
Every time Jackson, a retired aircraft repairman, saw Trump’s actions rattling his community, he thought it must be the last straw — the end of Trump.
Vance’s Yale friend Jamil Jivani, who is mentioned in the book, told van Zuylen-Wood that “the last strawâ€â€”the offense that fully convinced Vance to reject the ruling elites—was that snotty critics gave the Ron Howard–Glenn Close Elegy adaptation, which has a good audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, bad reviews.
"But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against Chris Pincher, a Conservative lawmaker, before he promoted Pincher to a senior position turned out to be the last straw," the AP added.
“The most recent news should be the last straw,†the statement said, adding: “All state attorneys general must be above reproach. For too long Paxton has teetered on the edge. He needs to go, and an independent investigation should be launched immediately.â€
For former defense secretary Jim Mattis, it was the last straw: the sight of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, walking the streets of downtown Washington in battle-ready camouflage amid a show of brute federal force.
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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.
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