draw the short straw — ► draw the short straw be chosen to perform an unpleasant task. Main Entry: ↑straw … English terms dictionary
draw the short straw — verb a) To select the shortest straw or other object while drawing straws. I drew the short straw and got stuck doing the whole project alone. b) To be selected to do an undesirable task (by drawing the shortest straw or otherwise) … Wiktionary
draw the short straw — informal to be the member of a group who has to do an unpleasant job. Sorry, Jim, you drew the short straw. You re on toilet cleaning duty … New idioms dictionary
draw the short straw — be chosen to perform an unpleasant task. → straw … English new terms dictionary
get the short straw — draw/get/the short straw phrase to be the person in a group who has to do an unpleasant or difficult job I drew the short straw and had to stay late. Thesaurus: to be in, or to get into a difficult situationsynonym Main entry: short … Useful english dictionary
draw the crow — (Aust) To draw the short straw, come off worst in an allocation • • • Main Entry: ↑crow … Useful english dictionary
get the short end of the stick — get the short end of the ˈstick idiom (NAmE) (BrE ˌdraw the short ˈstraw) to be the person in a group who is chosen or forced to perform an unpleasant duty or task Main entry: ↑shortidiom … Useful english dictionary
straw — ► NOUN 1) dried stalks of grain, used as fodder or for thatching, packing, or weaving. 2) a single dried stalk of grain. 3) a thin hollow tube of paper or plastic for sucking drink from a container. 4) a pale yellow colour. ● clutch at straws Cf … English terms dictionary
straw — S3 [stro: US stro:] n [: Old English; Origin: streaw] 1.) a) [U] the dried stems of wheat or similar plants that animals sleep on, and that are used for making things such as baskets, hats etc →↑hay ▪ a straw hat b) a single dried stem of stra … Dictionary of contemporary English
draw — draw1 W1S1 [dro: US dro:] v past tense drew [dru:] past participle drawn [dro:n US dro:n] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(picture)¦ 2 draw (somebody s) attention 3 draw a conclusion 4 draw a comparison/parallel/distinction etc 5¦(get a reaction)¦ 6¦(attract)¦ 7¦(get… … Dictionary of contemporary English
