thanks for the dicklordish response!
(Was that the correct use of the word dicklordish?)
This particular comedian was guessing about people's backgrounds and based his comedy act on shitty assumptions in desperation to say something funny. Where I come from the saying "drawing at strings" implies conjecture on the part of he who is "drawing at strings". My apologies if I was not clear on the nature of his conjecture.
( smearballs double bag it!, Mon 16 Jun 2014, 23:24, 3 replies)

"clutching at strings"
"grasping at straws"
"staying about from bins"
( .Yeti., Mon 16 Jun 2014, 23:46, closed)

"jerking at horses"
"poking at the dolphin's blow-hole"
"scratching at crotch-pimples"
"sniffing at ballstrings"
( smearballs double bag it!, Mon 16 Jun 2014, 23:51, closed)

"greasing the Shatner's bassoon"
"circular breathing around the starfish"
"giving it a serious dose of baboon hips"
"grappling the vicar's second sandwich from the left"
( .Yeti., Tue 17 Jun 2014, 0:00, closed)

"pointing at chickens"
( drimble he'd been white, he'd been black, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 2:00, closed)

teeheehee

( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 8:20, closed)

The phrase "drawing at strings" only exists in your head, pet.
Sorry about that.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 8:03, closed)

good thing I went back in time and spread this phrase all over the internet
( smearballs double bag it!, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 15:48, closed)

Just for a side by side comparisson:
www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=%22clutching+at+straws%22&word2=%22drawing+at+strings%22
(eViLegion Chief Commissioner of the Scottish Lunacy Board, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 17:04, closed)

That's great if you're in to using main-stream phrases.
I stopped using "clutching at straws" before it was cool to clutch at straws.
( smearballs double bag it!, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 17:07, closed)

And started using something that makes no sense, instead.
Why not just substitute gobbledygook words and phrases for everything you say?
(eViLegion Chief Commissioner of the Scottish Lunacy Board, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 17:10, closed)

drawing at bow strings - trying to hit a target
makes a lot of sense
( smearballs double bag it!, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 17:32, closed)

You're really grasping at reeds here.

(eViLegion Chief Commissioner of the Scottish Lunacy Board, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 17:36, closed)

grasping sucking
reeds moosebutts
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Tue 17 Jun 2014, 17:59, closed)