the last straw
17
3.9
- idiom
- Informal
- After months of delays and excuses, not finishing the project on time was the last straw for the frustrated manager.
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Watch on YouTubeSo, yeah, COVID was the last straw.
- So, yeah, COVID was the last straw.
- And that's just what was like the last straw and which shouldn't have been the last straw, but that's just that.
- Because it just, that's, that's the last straw.
Examples
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That was the last straw for Robert's enemies.
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That was the last straw, Cole.
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- This is the last straw.
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That was the last straw.
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Yes, that would have been the last straw.
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What was the last straw?
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This is the last straw!
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That was the last straw.
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At this point, this is kind of the last straw for him.
Blog text (34) -
Having that hit-and-run case turn out the way it did had been the last straw.
Fiction book (1993)
Synonyms
37
3.9
The moment when a person or thing can no longer handle pressure
20
4.4
The final small problem that makes someone lose patience
How Decisive
Surface Forms
Morphology
the + last + straw
While 'last' clearly means 'final' and 'straw' evokes a small, insignificant item, the idiomatic meaning — the final small annoyance that makes someone lose patience or act — depends on a metaphor (the straw that broke the camel's back) and is not fully predictable from the parts. A B1 learner might infer a notion of 'final small thing' but would likely miss the causative/idiomatic force without prior exposure.
Etymology
The last straw comes from the image of piling pieces of straw on a camel's back until the final piece breaks the camel's back. So it means the small final problem that makes someone 'lose patience' or 'take action'.