A drowning man will catch at a straw.

When people face severe danger or hardship, they may reach for an option that offers little realistic hope. The straw represents help too slight to save a drowning person.

The proverb emphasizes the force of desperation rather than the wisdom of the choice. An unlikely remedy can still feel worth trying when no better way out is visible.

Use the proverb to describe someone turning to a fragile hope or an inadequate remedy because the situation feels urgent. It can express sympathy for that impulse or suggest that the proposed solution is unlikely to work.