the straw that broke the camel's back

English

Etymology

Possibly from the proverb, recorded by Thomas Fuller in his Gnomologia as "Tis the last feather that breaks the horse's back." This comes from an Arab proverb about loading up a camel beyond its capacity to move.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

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Noun

the straw that broke the camel’s back

1. (idiomatic) A small and seemingly insignificant addition to a burden that renders it too much to bear; the small thing which causes failure, or causes inability or unwillingness to endure any more of something.
   • 1848, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son:

     As the last straw breaks the laden camel's back.

Derived terms

• final straw
• last straw

Translations

small additional burden which causes failure

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: اَلْقَشَّة اَلَّتِي قَصَمَت ظَهْر اَلْبِعِير (al-qašša allatī qaṣamat ẓahr al-biʿīr) (literal translation)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: la gota que fa vessar el vas
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 壓倒駱駝的最後一根草／压倒骆驼的最后一根草 (yādǎo luòtuo de zuìhòu yī gēn cǎo), 压倒骆驼的最后一根草 (yādǎo luòtuó de zuìhòu yī gēn cǎo)

• Czech: poslední kapka, číše přetekla, pohár trpělivosti přetekl
• Dutch: de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen n
• Esperanto: la guto, kiu superbordigis la vazon
• Finnish: korsi, joka katkaisee kamelin selän
• French: la goutte d’eau qui fait déborder le vase (fr) (the drop of water that makes the vase overflow)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: der Tropfen, der das Fass zum Überlaufen bringt
• Greek: η σταγόνα που ξεχείλισε το ποτήρι (i stagóna pou xecheílise to potíri)
• Hebrew: הקש ששבר את גב הגמל (he) (hakásh sheshavár ét gáv hagamál)
• Italian: la goccia che fa traboccare il vaso (the drop of water that makes the glass overflow), goccia che fa traboccare il vaso f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: kropla, która przepełnia czarę (pl)
• Portuguese: a gota que transbordou o copo (the drop that spills over the glass)
• Romanian: picătura care a umplut paharul (the drop that filled the glass)
• Russian: ка́пля, перепо́лнившая ча́шу (ru) f (káplja, perepólnivšaja čášu) (the drop that made the bowl overflow)
• Scottish Gaelic: théid capall don choille ach brisidh aon uallach a chridhe (the colt will go to the forest but one burden will break his heart)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ка̑п ко̀ја̄ је прѐлила ча̏шу f

  Roman: kȃp kòjā je prèlila čȁšu f

• Spanish: la gota que colmó el vaso, ser la gota que colma el vaso, la gota que derramó el vaso
• Swedish: droppen som fick bägaren att rinna över (sv) c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: bardağı taşıran son damla (the last drop that makes the glass overflow)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can