straw-clutching

English

Adjective

straw-clutching

  1. (informal, idiomatic) Of an incident or situation, desperately attempting to find a solution.
    • 1962, Lionel Davidson, The Rose of Tibet, page 65:
      Every bit of straw-clutching, every bit of hope that Hugh might be alive was followed instantly by a reaction of dismay, of reluctance to pursue it.
    • 1984, Jon Darius, Beyond Vision, page 128:
      After "little green men" and other straw-clutching explanations had been eliminated, it was realized that the source must be a rotating neutron star.
    • 2006, Gavin Newsham, Once in a Lifetime, The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos, page 235:
      Both acts of straw-clutching would come to nothing.

Derived terms

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