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Definition of Straw man
1. Noun. A person used as a cover for some questionable activity.
Generic synonyms: Beguiler, Cheat, Cheater, Deceiver, Slicker, Trickster
2. Noun. A weak or sham argument set up to be easily refuted.
3. Noun. An effigy in the shape of a man to frighten birds away from seeds.
Generic synonyms: Effigy, Image, Simulacrum
Derivative terms: Scare
Definition of Straw man
1. Noun. A doll or scarecrow (particularly one stuffed with straw). ¹
2. Noun. An insubstantial concept, idea, endeavor or argument, particularly one deliberately set up to be weakly supported, so that it can be easily knocked down; especially to impugn the strength of any related thing or idea. ¹
3. Noun. An innocuous person or someone of nominal or lesser importance, as a front man or straw boss. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Straw Man
Literary usage of Straw man
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion by James George Frazer (1900)
"Finally they burned a straw-man on the field.2 In the district of Diisseldorf
the straw-man burned on Shrove Tuesday was made of an ..."
2. The Yesterdays of Grand Rapids,. by Charles Eugene Belknap (1922)
"... the same instinct that controlled their flights guided them to some vast
wilderness unknown to man? The straw man Along in the 1850's the mattress maker ..."
3. Skilful Thinking by G. J. Rossouw, Craig MacKenzie (1994)
"1.2 The straw man fallacy In the Middle Ages people used straw dolls to ...
"The straw man fallacy" is a good name for this fallacy because in it person A's ..."
4. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay by Asiatic Society of Bombay (1872)
"The straw-man began to prove from various Shastras, that there is no God but
Shiva — to the utter amazement of all wh" were present. ..."
5. The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll by Robert Green Ingersoll (1901)
"the name of Smith, a teacher in some seminary out in Ohio, challenged this " man
of straw," and the straw man put him out. Both these reverend gentlemen ..."
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