■ 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 glass or bottle.
4》 a pale yellow colour like that of ~.
5》 [with negative ] anything or at all: he didn't care a ~ if they disliked him.
Phrases
clutch (or grasp or catch ) at ~s resort in desperation to unlikely or inadequate means of salvation. [from the proverb a drowning man will clutch at a ~ .]
draw the short ~ be chosen to perform an unpleasant task.
the last (or final ) ~ a further minor difficulty that comes after a series of difficulties and makes a situation unbearable. [from the proverb the last ~ breaks the (laden) camel's back .]
a ~ in the wind a slight hint of future developments.
Derivatives
~y adjective
Origin
OE strēaw , of Gmc origin; related to strew .