straw
noun uk/strɔː/ us/strɑː/
(DRIED STEMS)
C1 [ U ]禾秆;麦秆;稻草
the dried, yellow stems of crops such as wheat, used as food for animals or as a layer on the ground for animals to lie on, and for making traditional objects
a bale of straw 一捆稻草
a straw basket/hat 草编篮／草帽
straw-coloured hair 浅黄色的头发
- More examples
- straw matting
- Prisoners slept on straw mats.
- Add a layer of straw to your compost heap before adding more grass clippings.
- The calf was sitting, quite still, on bed of straw.
- She had little pieces of straw in her hair.
(TUBE)
C2 [ C ]吸管
a thin tube made of plastic or waterproof paper that is used to suck liquid into the mouth
Why don't you drink your milk through a straw? 你为什么不用吸管喝牛奶？
Idioms
clutch/grasp at strawsidiom （为摆脱困境）抓救命稻草，不放过任何微小的机会
to be willing to try anything to improve a difficult or unsatisfactory situation, even if it has little chance of success
She offered to take a pay cut to keep her job, but she was just clutching at straws. 她提出减薪以保住工作，但这只不过是在乱抓救命稻草。
the final/last strawidiom (also the straw that breaks the camel's back)C1 （压垮骆驼的）最后一根稻草；使人最终崩溃的一击
the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation
Losing my job was bad enough, but being evicted was the final straw. 丢了工作已经够糟了，但被房东赶出门后我彻底崩溃了。
She's always been rude to me, but it was the last straw when she started insulting my mother. 她一直对我很粗鲁，但让我终于无法忍受的是她竟然开始辱骂我的母亲。
straw in the windidiom UK （预示某事的）迹象，征兆，风向标
something that suggests what might happen
She described the theatre's closure as "a straw in the wind" as companies faced up to the realities of life after the lottery. 她认为该剧院的关闭是一个信号，昭示着各家剧团终于放弃侥幸想法，开始面对现实了。