draw straws
draw straws — idiom
1. to decide who will do something by having each person take one of a set of straw
to decide who will do something by having each person take one of a set of straws or sticks of different lengths — the person who gets the shortest one is chosen
The team captain told everyone to draw straws to decide who would present first.
draw straws + infinitive
When nobody volunteered for the night shift, the manager asked the staff to draw straws for it.
draw straws + for [task]
Darius and his three cousins drew straws to see who would walk the neighbour's dog.
The four scouts drew straws to decide who would cook breakfast for the group.
- draw lots
a more general term; can use any tokens (slips of paper, cards) instead of actual straws
- flip a coin
a different method (tossing a coin) used when there are only two options
- take the short straw
describes the outcome rather than the action — means being the one chosen
- volunteer
to offer to do a task freely, without any random selection process
用法筆記
Commonly used when the task to be assigned is unpleasant or nobody wants to do it. The result is expressed as 'get/draw the short straw'.