get the short straw
draw the short straw

No one wants to lament the obvious: they got the short straw in a long race.

We drew lots, and I got the short straw.

To make the joke more immediate, Fred said it was Father who got the short straw.

Ah well, PC always gets the short straw.

"I don't know if I ended up getting the short straw or losing the coin toss, something like that.

The boys of the workhouse pulled straws to decide which of them should try asking for more food; Oliver got the short straw.

I got the short straw, hon." Breath.

For each of the episodes, the writers drew straws and that the one who got the shortest straw wrote the episode for this sketch.

I have no idea why when it's obvious that black girls are just so genuinely much more beautiful than Caucasians, who have clearly got the short straw.

"He'd say, 'You know, I know there can only be one C.E.O., and Gary got the short straw.' "

It wasn't really fair that Pete got the short straw; while I could rock out and improvise and Ray could mimic any style, Pete could do both.

Elliott Yamin, below, got the short straw on "American Idol," leaving the enthusiastic Taylor Hicks and the theatrical Katharine McPhee to compete in next week's final.

Underage Drinking Hits Grade School Short Boys Get the Short Straw in School Kids Choose Junk Food in School Montessori Kids: Academic Advantage?

It's clear that Skyhook is trying to defend its territory as the market for location-based services-and phones that support them-grows, but whether the judges will agree that Skyhook got the short straw remains to be seen.

"You and Em will go north", he grinned in lazy irony, "to prepare a place for us ... so d'you want to be admiral of the Pernese Navy, Ez, or do I get the short straw this time?"