הקש ששבר את גב הגמל

Hebrew

Etymology

From הַקַּשׁ (hakásh, “the straw”) + שֶׁ־ (she-, “that”) + שָּׁבַר (shavár, “broke”) + אֶת (ét, “[direct object marker]”) + גַּב־ (gáv-, “back of”) + הַגָּמָל (hagamál, “the camel”), hence literally “the straw that broke the camel’s back”; a calque from English.

Pronunciation

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Noun

הַקַּשׁ שֶׁשָּׁבַר אֶת גַּב הַגָּמָל • (hakásh sheshavár ét gáv hagamál)

1. the straw that broke the camel's back: the small additional burden which causes failure