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Straw man
Definitions
- 1 A doll or scarecrow, particularly one stuffed with straw.
- 2 an effigy in the shape of a man to frighten birds away from seeds wordnet
- 3 An innocuous person or someone of nominal or lesser importance, as a front man or straw boss. figuratively
- 4 a weak or sham argument set up to be easily refuted wordnet
- 5 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. figuratively
"This Euler inequality recurs as either the cornerstone or the straw man in many theories contained in this book."
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- 6 a male person used as a cover for some questionable activity wordnet
- 7 An outline serving as an initial proposal for a project, usually refined iteratively. figuratively
"a tentative straw-man spec"
- 8 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."
- 1 To falsely attribute an insubstantial argument (a straw man argument) to another through direct declaration or indirect implication; to put words in someone's mouth. transitive
"Person A: "Cats have claws." Person B: "Not all cats have claws: some are declawed." Person A: "Don't straw man me; I never said all.""
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.
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.
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