to catch at a straw
Preserved but no longer current.
A forlorn hope. A drowning man will catch at a straw. To make bricks without straw. To attempt to do something without the proper and necessary materials. The allusion is to the exaction of the Egyptian taskmasters men- tioned in Exod, v, 6-14.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to catch at a straw” mean?
A forlorn hope. A drowning man will catch at a straw. To make bricks without straw. To attempt to do something without the proper and necessary materials. The allusion is to the exaction of the Egyptian taskmasters men- tioned in Exod, v, 6-14.
Is “to catch at a straw” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.