What does "the straw that broke a camel's back" mean? Do you think it is an accurate saying?

Question

Best answer is one that gives a thorough answer and also a real life example. Thanks!

Answer 1

We're not talking about a real straw or a real camel here. The statement gives you a visual image. Picture a camel loaded down with straw. The owner keeps piling straw on the camel. Finally, the camel can't take it any more and its back is broken. Now picture someone who has a pile of troubles. Sometimes it takes only one more problem, even a little one to make the person feel that he/she can't take it any more or to lose control. This expression is also shortened to "the last straw." For example, let's say you have a friend who says nasty things about you. Finally, she/he says something to another friend of yours and you think, "that's the straw that broke the camel's back" (or "the last straw"). I'm never going to speak to her/him again!" Hope you get the picture.

Answer 2

It means that little things can just be too much after a while. Presumably camels can carry a lot of weight, but there has to be a point where they just can't carry any more, right? So, that's the straw that broke the camel's back. A real life example would be a person who always bothers you, joking, teasing, throwing stuff, whatever, and then finally, it's just too much and you blow up at them for teasing you. It wasn't much on its own, but combined with everything else, it "was the straw that broke the camel's back". I think it's a pretty accurate saying.

Answer 3

The straw that broke the camel's back is that one last thing, added to a pile of other things, that finally brings the situation to a head. I think it is accurate. And an example:

Jenny was having a bad day: she spilled coffee on her clothes in the morning, her car wouldn't start and she had to call a cab, her boss accused her of taking too many breaks, and her nylons got a run, but the straw that really broke the camel's back was when her husband called her at 2:00PM to say he had been arrested for drunk driving.

Answer 4

the phrase comes from the fact that camels are used to carry much cargo through the desert, and the idea that a particular camel was weighed down with so much stuff, that just one more piece of straw would cause his back to break.
Americans usually use it to convey that so much has happened, that we can't take it anymore & something has to be done. Real life example: when I was in school, I asked my physical education teacher if I could be excused from class (female issues), and she said, "You are the straw that broke the camels back. Too many of you are asking to be excused from class & I'm not going to allow it any more."

Answer 5

I think it makes sense. It just means the one small thing, that by itself may not be a big deal, but added in with everything else ends up being the breaking point
and i have an example

my mom was addicted to crack for a few years. Her boyfriend started her on it. Well after abotu 3 years of her working her waitress job and spending all her tips on crack and not eating or having anything of any value, one day they had $20, no food and no toilet paper. the spent the $20 on crack. My mom swears that having to wipe her *** with a coffee filter (somethig we ahd always done when i was little and we ran out af TP late at night) was the final straw. She never smoked the crack again. so in her case, it was the coffee filter that broke the camels back (2 years drug free)

Answer 6

It's from an old proverb. The camel's owner wanted the camel to carry as much straw as possible. He kept loading and loading straw on its back. As the camel got more and more overloaded, the owner was reduced to putting one straw at a time onto its back. He finally put just one straw too many onto the camel, and broke its back.

In real life, we are often overloaded as we take on more and more responsibilities, one at a time. There comes a point where we get one responsibility too much, and it "breaks our back".

Answer 7

I think its an accurate saying. Basically it means the thing that pushed you "over the edge". Think of something that annoys the heck out of you and some one does it one too many times. Say your kid/spouse/wholever leaves dirty dishes in the living room every single night and you've asked them to please take the to the kichen. You've had a really bad day and there are the dishes in the living room. You lose your cool - that would be "the straw that broke the camel's back"

Answer 8

It's not an accurate saying, but it does have some truth to it. Camels can carry very heavy loads, given their size, but it is possible to overload a stoic camel to the point that they cannot bear any more weight and they collapse. This is a colorful and descriptive way to say that the tipping point has been reached, and the situation must change.

Answer 9

It means that a lot of little things stress a person until they break and let go of their emotions. I imagine in those days straw was commonly underfoot, light and of no consequence, while a camel's tantrum resulted in kicking, biting, spitting, and delaying the caravan. Don't you think it aptly describes most people who endure one setback after another and then when some tiny thing comes up that frustrates them, they kick, spit, and refuse to do anything more?

Best example I can think of is the people enduring the rebuilding after a flood, earthquake and fire--they can survive but man, the little details are maddening!

Answer 10

It is , of course , a hyperbolic statement. I doubt if anyone's ever tried it but if you have any decent imagination.. it is a possible scenario.