Last straw

[FredPuli]

What is the origin of the saying 'it's the last straw that breaks the camel's back' ?

[andy hughes]

The phrase dates back to the last century and was quoted by Charles Dickens in 'Dombey And Son. An ewarlier version was "The feather that breaks the horse's back" and I believe its origins are an old Hindu proverb concerning overloading a camel so much that even trying to get one single straw added to the load was enough to mean the difference between the animal carrying its load, and its back breaking. The common understanding is someone reaching the end of their considerable patience.

[FredPuli]

Well, really Einstein ! That's the last straw ! Interesting that it is literally an allusion to something being the last burden , that would not in itself be disastrous, causing a collapse and so it has come to be used sometimes for the terminal misfortune of a company. I only knew it as 'the last annoyance or frustration which has exhausted my patience' ; this is a far less obvious meaning, though certainly the only one that I was brought up with. It has an air of P G Wodehouse about it and was , indeed,favoured by my elderly aunts.