Hello and

Welcome to the English we speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers

so that you can use them too.

I'm Fay Faye and I'm joined by Georgie.

Hi Faye, how are you doing?

I'm very well, thank you.

What about you?

Yes, I'm good, thank you.

Now in this program, we're looking at the idiom clutch at straws. Ever heard of one fe fey yes i have it's actually quite

common so the verb clutch means to hold something tightly with your hands and

straws georgi are we talking about hold something tightly with your hands. And,

Georgie, are we talking about the long hollow tubes we used to drink things?

No. This idiom comes from an old proverb where straws is actually a thin plant that grows near a river.

If you're clutching at straws, you're trying to save yourself from drowning in the river.

I didn't know that, but that helps us to understand its

metaphorical meaning. We use clutch at straws when someone is trying to

improve a difficult situation using methods that are a bit desperate and don't

seem likely to work. Let's hear some examples.

I was doing a marathon and I needed some people to sponsor me but no one was giving me

money so I was really clutching at straws and I had to go to my neighbor instead.

So in my French class we had to give a presentation on something interesting and

everyone had really good ideas and I couldn't think of anything so I was really clutching

...