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The straw that broke the camel's back refers to a small problem that causes a situation to collapse after many earlier problems or frustrations. On its own the "straw" is trivial, but it arrives after a long buildup of stress, inconvenience, or annoyance.
The expression comes from the idea of loading a camel with cargo: eventually the animal reaches its limit, and one last single straw is enough to make it fail.
The expression comes from the idea of loading a camel with cargo: eventually the animal reaches its limit, and one last single straw is enough to make it fail.
I didn't mind the messy room or the dirty dishes, but when he left the door open again, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.