552: The Last Straw Jun 12, 2016

Language is a system of communicating ideas, based off of mutual understanding, so as long as both parties involved in the conversation know what the message is, logical or not, it doesn't matter really. The phrase "the last straw" comes from the full phrase "the last straw that breaks the laden camel's back". "The last straw" at one point required understanding from everyone who grew up with references, but then took on a life of its own, so to speak, and can be used to effectively communicate an idea that a second-language speaker of English may not comprehend.