Windlestraws

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Dry grass stalks that are light enough to be carried along by the wind ; trifling things of no real worth that people grasp at in desperation
2. Brittle, dried-out blades of grass swept up by gusts ; insignificant trifles or flimsy hopes that someone clings to when in great need
3. Withered stems of grass that gusts easily carry away ; worthless little things, or feeble straws of hope, that a desperate person may cling to

Etymology: Windlestraws is simply the plural of "windlestraw", a noun for a stalk of dry grass, especially one that has been blown about by the wind. The singular is built from "windle", an older English word that meant to wind or to turn, and "straw", the dry stalk left after grain is harvested. Put together, the compound describes straw that the wind keeps turning and carrying. The "windle" element is the more interesting part. It comes from the same Old English root as "wind" in the sense of turning, so the word's core image is motion: something light enough to be spun and tossed by a breeze. The plural form simply names several of these stalks at once, which is how the word is most often met, in descriptions of fields or of things scattered across the ground.