jackstraw

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

jackstraw

noun jackstraws

plural normally One of the pieces used for the game called jackstraws or pick-up sticks. It was a cheerful reminder of one’s childhood, and another bond of sympathy between the various branches of the human race, however remotely separated from each other, to find the little shaven-pated lads playing ball in the streets of Hakodadi, or jackstraws within the domestic circle at home.
Similar: spillikin
dated An insignificant person. [They] had rather be called Sons of the Earth, provided it be their own Earth, (their own Native Country) and act like Men at home, then, being deſtitute of Houſe or Land, to relieve the neceſſities of Nature in a Foreign Country, by ſelling of Smoke, as thou doſt, an inconſiderable Fellow, and a Ja

adjective

not comparable Resembling a bundle of jackstraws that has been strewn on a surface. Along the grass-grown wharves,—silver-gray piles which crumbled at the ends into a jackstraw heap of rotting logs,—there was no human stir.
not comparable, obsolete, of a person Of no substance or worth. […] if you are my daughter, you shall wear these for your father’s sake!—How now, madam! Refuse me! I command you on your obedience to accept of this—I will not be a Jack-straw father—

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"jackstraw." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/jackstraw. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

jackstraw. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/jackstraw

Chicago

"jackstraw." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/jackstraw.

BibTeX

@misc{jackstraw_2026,
  title = {jackstraw},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/jackstraw},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}