| 释义 |
draw the short straw draw the short strawTo obtain the least favorable, desirable, or fortunate outcome in a given selection. ("Drawing straws" is a technique for deciding something at random. The act of drawing straws does not have to occur for this phrase to be used.) I drew the short straw when it came to cleaning up after our shift last night. Our team drew the short straw and had to come in over the weekend to work on the revised proposal.See also: draw, short, strawdraw the short straw mainly BRITISHIf you draw the short straw, you are chosen from a number of people to do a task that nobody wants to do. I drew the short straw and had to take twenty kids to the park. Note: Other verbs such as get and pick are sometimes used instead of draw. Eales got the short straw and was in goal. Note: This expression comes from the practice of using pieces of straw to draw lots. One person holds several pieces of straw in their hand with the ends poking out. Each person in the group takes a piece of straw and the person with the shortest piece loses. See also: draw, short, strawdraw the short straw be the unluckiest of a group of people, especially in being chosen to perform an unpleasant task. One method of drawing lots involves holding several straws of varying lengths with one end concealed in your hand and then inviting other members of the group to take one each.See also: draw, short, strawˌdraw the short ˈstraw (British English) (American English get the ˌshort end of the ˈstick) be the person in a group who is chosen or forced to do something unpleasant that nobody wants to do: You’ve drawn the short straw, I’m afraid. You’re going to have to work on New Year’s Day.See also: draw, short, straw |