Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
straw-clutching en · ADJ
Meanings
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(idiomatic, informal) Of an incident or situation, desperately attempting to find a solution.
After "little green men" and other straw-clutching explanations had been eliminated, it was realized that the source must be a rotating neutron star.
1984, Jon Darius, Beyond Vision, page 128:Both acts of straw-clutching would come to nothing.
2006, Gavin Newsham, Once in a Lifetime, The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos, page 235: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.
1962, Lionel Davidson, The Rose of Tibet, page 65:
Deriveds
straw-clutchingly