Meaning of slender reed | Babel Free

Definitions

A person, fact, or resource on which one can rely only to a limited extent.

idiomatic

Examples

“"It was perfectly natural for you to think⟳ that a lad of eighteen was a slender reed to lean⟳ on in the time of trouble⟳ and danger."”

“"It is a slender reed," Gilbert said, "for so mighty an issue⟳ to rest⟳ upon."”

“Yet these precedents offer⟳ no more than a slender reed for Gordon Brown, almost hopelessly down in the polls, to cling⟳ to.”

“The nomination of a gay black Miami judge⟳ to the federal bench will not move⟳ forward⟳ after Senator Marco Rubio announced he was withdrawing his support⟳ over concerns about the judge’s actions in two criminal cases. . . . “That is a slender reed for Senator Rubio to hang⟳ this on,” said Representative Alcee Hastings, Democrat of Florida, referring to the two court cases.”

CEFR level