Clutch at straws

Try any route to get out of a desperate situation, no matter how unlikely it is to succeed.

It is only since the mid-19th century that we have been clutching at straws. Prior to that, desperate people would ‘catch at a straw’.

via www.phrases.org.uk/a-phrase-a-week

Panic stations

Meaning

A state of high alert, often a simulated panic for comic effect.

It is a nautical phrase that doesn’t originate from the heydays of sail. One of the numerous meanings of the word station is ‘a position assigned to a man on duty’. The Royal Navy had several commands to call sailors to their stations, notably ‘action stations’, which was ordered when a ship came under attack. Oddly, for a term that sounds like an ironic play on words, ‘panic stations’ was an actual command. This is apparent in a report titled Behind the Veil, published in The Times, November 1918:

Alarm gongs had already sent the guns’ crews to their invisible guns and immediately after the explosion ‘Panic stations’ was ordered, followed in due course by ‘Abandon ship’.

Via A Phrase A Week

Your name is mud

Meaning:-    You are highly unpopular.

Be at Daggers Drawn:-

If two people or groups are at daggers drawn, they are angry and ready to fight or argue with each other.

Usage notes: A dagger is a sharp pointed knife that was used in the past as a weapon.