Name: English Tutor Nick P Proverbs (132) A Drowning Man Will Clutch at a Straw
Uploaded: 2019-06-21T17:04:41.000Z
Duration: 2 min 54 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Proverbs 132. The proverb today is "a

drowning man will clutch or grasp at a straw.'  Okay.  Let's take a look at the note here. This

Basic passive voice

proverb is often used as the American idiom to clutch at straws or the British

idiom grasp at straws. Even though in the US.,  sometimes I hear grasp at straws

too, but it is more British. All right. Let's continue here.

If someone clutches or grasps at straws,  he or she tries to do something that is

very unlikely to succeed and they only do it out of desperation. Almost like

what were they thinking ? Did they really think that was going work ? You know ,

the only reason they tried it is because they were so desperate they,  they would...

they probably had no other choice.  They're just a last hope. Okay.

So let's continue. The proverb alludes to the idea that a drowning man will try to

clutch even at just a piece of floating straw. So if you're really in the water

and you're drowning and there's that piece of floating straw . Ah ! Maybe you still try

to grab it.  I don't know. To hope beyond hope that you know,  somehow a miracle

could happen and it could save you. We say to save himself. Of course,  a floating

piece of straw is too weak to possibly hold or save a drowning man. So the

action is futile. It  is useless. It's not going to save them. Okay. Anyway, let's

look at some examples we have here.  Here's the first one. He must really be

desperate to make this attempt. He is just clutching at straws All right. So this is

the idiom use. The first one,  the first like the American one.  Oh ! Must be clutching

at straws. There is no way this can be reversed. It can't be changed back around.

All right. Number two. Now this is the actual proverb you could use it as the

actual proverb too.  This is an a/b part.  So A here says did he

really think this desperate attempt would work ? And B says well you know,  how

it goes. A drowning man will clutch at a straw. Well that's the way you might

use it with the proverb. Okay. And the last one you know,  the idiom that maybe

the way the British may use it. Number three.  Their claims and accusations have

no validity. You know. no validity,  no proof. They are just grasping at straws.

Okay. Anyway,  this is the way it's used.  I hope you got it . I hope is clear. Thank you