The straw that broke the camels back in a sentence

Are you looking for an expression to tell someone that you’re at the tipping point of your emotional scale? Are you looking for a veiled warning to get the other person to stop their words or actions? If that’s the case, you could use “the straw that broke the camel’s back” to tell them you’ve had it with their behavior. This post unpacks this expression’s meaning and origin.

Meaning

The “straw that broke the camel’s back” means an action or conversation that causes a person to reach their breaking point. It describes an inflection point and causes a change, either in the situation or in the person’s behavior.

Example Usage

“That’s the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’m not willing to do any more of this additional work until you compensate me for it. I don’t work for free, and I demand overtime.”

“Telling Sally that he was out with friends that night was the straw that broke the camel’s back in their relationship. He didn’t realize Sally saw him with her and told Kim about it. Now she’s breaking up with him.”

“Losing that account because of failed record-keeping was the straw that broke the camel’s back for management. They decided to invest in the CRM system at the next management meeting.”

“Getting caught by the police was the straw that broke the camel’s back for my mom. She told me that if the cops ever brought me home, she would send me off to boarding school for good.”

Origin

The origin of the expression “the straw that broke the camel’s back” comes from an Arabic proverb. Some traders in the early days of commerce would load their camel’s back with straw to the point where the camel would buckle under the weight of its cargo.

The earliest use of the expression in print comes from the mid-19th century. It appeared in The Age, an Australian newspaper, published in an article in December 1854, where it appears as follows.

“It was to be remembered that it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, and the Colony ought to do nothing to diminish its credit in the London markets, where it was already so low that nobody would come forward and lend them a shilling.”

Legendary author Charles Dickens also used a similar rendition of the phrase a few years earlier, in 1848, in his work, “Dombey and Son.”

“As the last straw breaks the laden camel’s back, this piece of underground information crushed the sinking spirits of Mr. Dombey.”

Phrases Similar to The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back

• The last straw.
• The final straw.
• Upper limit.
• Breaking-point.

Phrases Opposite to The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back

• Please continue.
• Don’t stop.

What is the Correct Saying?

• The straw that broke the camel’s back.

Ways People May Say The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back Incorrectly

The saying has nothing to do with camels. The “camel” in this idiomatic expression is an action by another person or entity causing you to react to previous past behavior.

It has nothing to do with animals or breaking backs. The back is the person’s tolerance for the other person’s actions towards them.

Acceptable Ways to Phrase The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back

You can use the phrase “the straw that broke the camel’s back when you’re trying to describe a tipping point. It defines a situation where you’re letting someone know that you are about to react to their repeated bad behavior towards you or other people.

The straw that broke the camel’s back is the final action by another person or entity that sparks the conflagration of the reaction.

You could use it to describe your computer crashing on you being the straw that broke the camel’s back and the reason for you throwing it off your desk in anger. It could also describe the final bad action by your partner that causes you to leave them.

Example: This week has left Bella tired and frustrated. Now at work and in a bad mood, she went to grab her food from the office fridge, only to realize that someone had taken it without her permission! This was the straw that broke the camel’s back; she found the person responsible and gave them a piece of her mind.

Synonyms / Similar Phrases:

1. Had enough
2. The last straw

iStock.com / Chalabala
“You want me to carry straw? On my back? No way,” said the camel.

The Origin Of “The Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back”

You probably know what a camel is, they are the amazing creatures with the hump on their backs! These animals are capable of surviving the harsh conditions of a desert. They can go long periods of time without water. For example, the Dromedary camel—a kind of camel that has one hump—can go about 10 days without water. In addition, when they do decide to drink, they can do so in large quantities—up to 20 gallons or more at a time.

So where does this phrase come from? Well, it might have to do with how people make use of camels for transportation purposes. Since camel’s have strong backs, they can transport goods, such as straw, from place to place. And based on what this phrase says, too much straw at that!

Note: The origin of this phrase is unknown. However, a simple and perhaps obvious idea on how it might have originated is included below.

While getting ready to transport straw, people loaded too much on the camel’s back. The excessive weight of the straw resulted in the camel’s legs or back giving out (maybe even some cases, the back even broke). Thus, after the camel collapsed, onlookers might have thought it was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” If this situation was common enough, I could see how this expression would form from it.

Anyway, the earliest appearance of this phrase in print (that I could find) is from the the middle of the 19th century. For example, in the newspaper The Age, published in Melbourne, Australia, December 1854:

“It was to be remembered that it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, and the Colony ought to do nothing to diminish its credit in the London markets, where it was already so low that nobody would come forward and lend them a shilling.”

This means the idiom is at least over 160 years old.

Example Sentences

• It felt like everything was going wrong this morning, and the straw that broke the camel’s back was when I accidentally spilled my cereal on the floor.

Similar Examples:

• My car has several problems, but the last straw that forced me to take it in for repairs was when it refused to start.
• After a long day at work, I wanted to come home and relax. However, the kids started making a bunch of noise and at that point, I’ve had enough; I told them to keep it down.

Tip: If you want to see more expressions like this one, we have a list of animal sayings that you can check out. For more common phrases in general, simply use the menu at the top.

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