straw man en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From straw + man. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1986 passim, shows first known usages for things insubstantial date to 1585-95. Universal Dictionary of the English Language, 1897, Vol 4, p. 4485, notes “man of straw” as “The figure of a man formed of an old suit of clothes stuffed with straw; hence, the mere resemblance of a man; one of no substance or means; an imaginary person.” Compare West Frisian strieman, Dutch strooman, stroman, German Strohmann, Danish stråmand, Swedish stråman, Norwegian stråmann.
Meanings
- A doll or scarecrow, particularly one stuffed with straw.
- (figuratively) An innocuous person or someone of nominal or lesser importance, as a front man or straw boss.
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(figuratively) An insubstantial concept, idea, endeavor or argument, particularly one deliberately set up to be weakly supported, e.g. by misrepresenting an opponent's argument by broadening or narrowing the scope of a premise, so that it can be easily knocked down; especially to impugn the strength of any related or contrasted thing or idea.
This Euler inequality recurs as either the cornerstone or the straw man in many theories contained in this book.
2018, Lars Ljungqvist and Thomas J. Sargent, Recursive macroeconomic theory, 4th edition, MIT Press, page 4:
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(figuratively) An outline serving as an initial proposal for a project, usually refined iteratively.
a tentative straw-man spec
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Synonym of straw buyer.
If a broker or a salesperson attempts to use a straw man to purchase property for which he or she has a listing, the real estate person must specifically disclose in writing to the seller this relationship with the buyer.
2000, John W. Reilly, The Language of Real Estate, page 381:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| strawman | alternative | lexicographic | |
| straw men | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Synonyms
Translations (52)
es espantapájaros (doll or scarecrow) · sv halmdocka (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · bg незначителен човек (person of lesser importance) · de Strohmann (person of lesser importance) · it uomo di paglia (person of lesser importance) · fr homme de paille (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · pt testa de ferro (person of lesser importance) · fi mattimeikäläinen (person of lesser importance) · sv halmdocka (doll or scarecrow) · ca espantaocells (doll or scarecrow) · es hombre de paja (person of lesser importance) · bg плашило (doll or scarecrow) · pl zarys (initial project spec) · pl figurantka (person of lesser importance) · mk стра́шило (doll or scarecrow) · cy cocyn anelu (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · pl chochoł (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · pt laranja (person of lesser importance) · tr bostan korkuluğu (person of lesser importance) · ca home de palla (person of lesser importance) · hu stróman (person of lesser importance) · el αχυράνθρωπος (person of lesser importance) · bg слаб аргумент (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · pl marionetka (person of lesser importance) · mk пла́шило (doll or scarecrow) · sh страшило (doll or scarecrow) · pl figurant (person of lesser importance) · el σκιάχτρο (doll or scarecrow) · ru чу́чело (doll or scarecrow) · da stråmand (person of lesser importance) · ru страши́ла (doll or scarecrow) · pl chochoł (doll or scarecrow) · cy cocyn hitio (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · de Strohpuppe (doll or scarecrow) · cmn 稻草人 (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · da stråmand (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · sv halmgubbe (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · tr oyuk (doll or scarecrow) · fr épouvantail (doll or scarecrow) · pt esboço (initial project spec) · es argucia (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · fi olkinukke (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · pt espantalho (insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument) · tr bostan korkuluğu (doll or scarecrow) · fi olkinukke (doll or scarecrow) · fr homme de paille (person of lesser importance) · tr korkuluk (doll or scarecrow) · sv halmgubbe (doll or scarecrow) · pt espantalho (doll or scarecrow) · it spaventapasseri (doll or scarecrow) · ru пу́гало (doll or scarecrow) · pl szkic (initial project spec)