straw man
[From the making of sham human figures out of bundles of straw, as for use as scarecrows or practice targets .]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
straw man
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
straw′ man′
n.
1. a person whose function is only to cover another's activities; front.
2. a conveniently weak or innocuous person, object, or issue used as a seeming adversary or argument.
[1895–1900]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  straw man - a person used as a cover for some questionable activity |
| 2. | straw man - a weak or sham argument set up to be easily refuted specious argument - an argument that appears good at first view but is really fallacious | |
| 3. |  straw man - an effigy in the shape of a man to frighten birds away from seedseffigy, simulacrum, image - a representation of a person (especially in the form of sculpture); "the coin bears an effigy of Lincoln"; "the emperor's tomb had his image carved in stone" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
