Talk:Straw that broke the camel's back

from VfD: Dictdef. Securiger 13:56, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)


 * Keep [[User:Rex071404|Rex071404 [[Image:Happyjoe.jpg]] ]] 15:40, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Wiktionary. &#8212;Rory &#9786; 15:42, Sep 29, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Mark Richards 16:35, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Redirect to List of idioms in the English language. Since it's difficult to measure notability of phrases like this, they should all be kept in the one article. Darksun 17:08, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep this. Intrigue 19:42, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete and redirect to List of idioms in the English language. Gamaliel [[Image:Watchmensmiley20.gif]] 20:06, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete altogether, WP is not a book of general sayings and idioms. What's next, "One for the money, two for the show?" or "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush," ad nauseum.
 * Keep. Notable, notable, notable. &mdash; El Chico!  Talk 20:10, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Transwiki to Wiktionary. This is a dicdef (a discussion of the meaning and usage of a word or phrase).  I see no possibility of expansion.  Rossami 20:57, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Transwiki and Redirect to List of idioms in the English language. It's notable, but suited for a dictionary definition rather than an encylopaedia article.  -- WOT 21:02, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Comment: it seems like cases like these would be simpler if Wikipedia and Wiktionary were more integrated. -- WOT 21:03, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)

end moved discussion
 * Keep. Rhobite 03:08, Sep 30, 2004 (UTC)
 * Redirect to List of idioms in the English language, where it is listed and has been defined. -- Antaeus Feldspar 20:30, 30 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Dictdef.   &mdash; Gwalla | Talk 20:50, 30 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Redirect to List of idioms in the English language. --Saforrest 21:19, Sep 30, 2004 (UTC)
 * Transwiki to Wiktionary. It's a dictionary definition. -- J3ff 22:17, 30 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Redirect to List of idioms in the English language. Anything to be added should be added to that article, and not by making a new one.  The redirect will take care of users trying to find the particular phrase.  --avnative 19:40, Oct 1, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Guanaco 21:13, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete put in idioms section. HRpufnstuf 00:10, 5 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Mm...
Add the bit about Dickens to the List of Idioms page and delete this...

2007-02-9 Automated pywikipediabot message
--CopyToWiktionaryBot 09:01, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Earliest known appearance in English
In 1655, Archbishop John Bramhall wrote: It is the last feather that breaks the horse's back, which is the identical concept albeit using slightly different words. . -- JackofOz (talk) 08:23, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

how much straw do you need to break a camel's back?
I wouldn't mind a bit of scientific fact about camels and volume to weight ratio and back density. Anyone know anything about the literalisms behind this idiom? PyroGamer (talk) 22:43, 19 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I think about 103,847 straws worth of weight would do. Remember seeing it in a reddit forum somewhere. Don't take my word though, I would recommend checking for yourself on my accuracy. Carnival200 (talk) 17:09, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

Arabic, Dickens, Tamil, etc.
What evidence do we have that this proverb is a calque from the Arabic? Simply because a camel is mentioned? But our earliest English source talks of a "horse", and the "last drop" version comes from about the same time. The source given, Exploring Idioms, is written for 4-8th grade, and shows no evidence of scholarly research.

Why was the Dickens use of this quote so prominent? I have moved it to a chronological list of occurrences.

The Tamil proverb is translated as "With peacock feathers light, you load the wain; / Yet, heaped too high, the axle snaps in twain." which doesn't mean the same thing at all -- it is saying that it doesn't matter if the weight of individual items is small if you load too many of them; it isn't talking about the "last drop" or the "last straw". I am removing it.

For that matter, should WP really be listing dozens of translations of a proverb? --Macrakis (talk) 04:51, 15 September 2014 (UTC)