Grasping To

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mounta

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What is the meaning of 'grasping to' in some article:


"Economists have been predicting the demise of the logging of ancient trees, as both trees and jobs continued to disappear. Then, this month, a Federal study group recommended that 2.5 million acres of virgin forest be set aside this summer to protect the endangered spotted owl. Few people expected the end to be so sudden, As a result, leaders on both sides of the issue are grasping to find specific solutions."

My dictionary doesn't have a suitable meaning for it.
 

JMurray

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Here, "grasping to find solutions" means trying urgently/eagerly, and perhaps unsuccessfully, to find solutions. Often, "grasping" has a sense of desperation, as in the idiom "grasping at straws".

not a teacher
 
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