- (a) man of straw
- British, American & Australian, American
a person or an idea that is weak and easy to defeat.
Compared to their illustrious predecessors, the country's leaders seem to be men of straw.
New idioms dictionary. 2014.
(a) man of straw
Look at other dictionaries:
Man of straw — Straw Straw, n. [OE. straw, stre, stree, AS. stre[ a]w, from the root of E. strew; akin to OFries. str[=e], D. stroo, G. stroh, OHG. str[=o], Icel. str[=a], Dan. straa, Sw. str[*a]. [root]166. See {Strew}.] 1. A stalk or stem of certain species… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
man of straw (also straw man) — 1》 a person who is a sham. 2》 a person undertaking a financial commitment without adequate means. → man … English new terms dictionary
Man of straw — Man Man (m[a^]n), n.; pl. {Men} (m[e^]n). [AS. mann, man, monn, mon; akin to OS., D., & OHG. man, G. mann, Icel. ma[eth]r, for mannr, Dan. Mand, Sw. man, Goth. manna, Skr. manu, manus, and perh. to Skr. man to think, and E. mind. [root]104. Cf.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
man of straw man — ► man of straw (also straw man) 1) a person who is a sham. 2) a person undertaking a financial commitment without adequate means. Main Entry: ↑man … English terms dictionary
man of straw — ► man of straw (also straw man) 1) a person who is a sham. 2) a person undertaking a financial commitment without adequate means. Main Entry: ↑man … English terms dictionary
man of straw — A weak person that can easily be beaten of changed is a man of straw … The small dictionary of idiomes
man of straw — man′ of straw′ n. straw man • Etymology: 1615–25 … From formal English to slang
man of straw — 1. : an imaginary argument of no substance advanced in order to be easily confuted or an imaginary adversary advancing such an argument seems to be looking for a man of straw to belabor Journal of Forestry 2. : a person usually without means or… … Useful english dictionary
man of straw — A weak person that can easily be beaten of changed is a man of straw. A man of straw is a a weak person or argument that is easily defeated. (Dorking School Dictionary) … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
man of straw — noun a) A weak person. When push came to shove he gave in almost immediately, showing that he was a man of straw after all. b) A tactic used in debates and arguments where a weaker thesis is substituted for the opponents real proposition, this… … Wiktionary
Man of straw — A weak person that can easily be beaten of changed is a man of straw … Dictionary of English idioms
