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Are you doomed to fail when you "clutch at straws" ?

I mean...c'mon...straws aren't very strong are they? Wouldn't there be something better to "clutch at" ?

13 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    I definitely believe so.

    When you clutch at straws.......... they bend. Anything that bends and doesn't have the strength to stand up and fight until the end is doomed to fail.

    Wouldn't there be somthing better to clutch?

    A rock......a boulder even!...... a vine....... a rope...... a hand.

    But when you've gotten to the point where no one will extend you even a hand, you are indeed clutching at straws. I learned long ago, that once you've reached that point, you only embarass yourself and compromise your dignity if you believe that straw will be strong enough to hold you. So I let go.......

    The upside is..... you've not actually failed. If you had the determination to grasp hold of all that was before you..... and keep trying until the bitter end, it says a great deal about you as a person. You have what it takes to survive. What strength that took! No one could ever mistake you for a piece of straw.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    When all you have left to clutch is a straw, things really suck. It just gives me a hollow feeling. I think President jr. Bush is clutching at straws with his latest Iraq policy. This is not good for us or the men and women stationed over there. He has set up his critics as straw men, now it is his turn. Clutching at straws is aptly phrased. I picture someone holding on to a fistful of dandelions while hanging over a cliff. Is clutching at the last straw the epitome of being doomed?

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I have clutched at a lot of straws, all neatly tied up and bundled into 50 lbs. They are called straw bales.

    Sometimes it's clutching that very last straw that gives you the breath of life.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I suppose that's sort of the point of the saying, huh? You never hear someone say "My wife found me cheating with the maid. Grasping at straws, I told her that I had Disassociative Identity Disorder and it was my evil incarnation, Mr. Fluffernutter that was boinking the maid. We had 57 more years of blissful marriage after that, right up until the flesh-eating bacteria got her..."

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Well that's the point of the expression. When you are "grasping at straws" it means that you are sliding down a precipice and are desperate for anything to stop you from sliding off.

  • 1 decade ago

    I would clutch at the female bartenders boobies that hands me the Glass with the straw.....

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I only clutch for straws when thirsty.

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    undemanding utilization is: Doomed to failure Destined to fail the 1st refers back to the guy, it portends that no matter what, this individual will constantly fail. Al Bundy felt himself doomed to failure and reported as this "the Bundy curse." It means that some outdoors rigidity is inflicting the failure. The latter refers back to the job handy. this is a predictor that a individual is destined to fail in regard to three particular job because of the fact of identifiable causation. "because of the fact John on no account got here to type, he became destined to fail from the initiating."

  • 1 decade ago

    There is substance in straw, more so than many dreams.

  • Yes I guess you are. It should be like "clutch at the diamond encrusted titanium rod!"

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