straw man
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straw man
Where it comes from
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.
noun straw men · strawman
- A doll or scarecrow, particularly one stuffed with straw.
- An innocuous person or someone of nominal or lesser importance, as a front man or straw boss.
-
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.
Opposite: steelman
- An outline serving as an initial proposal for a project, usually refined iteratively. a tentative straw-man spec
-
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.
Similar: straw buyer
verb straw mans · straw manning · straw manned · strawman
- 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. 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."
Translations
Every language
noun initial project spec
| Português | esboço |
|---|
noun doll or scarecrow
| Español | espantapájaros |
|---|---|
| Português | espantalho |
| Français | épouvantail |
| Deutsch | Strohpuppe |
| Italiano | spaventapasseri |
| Ελληνικά | σκιάχτρο skiáchtro |
| Русский | чу́чело čúčelo, пу́гало púgalo, страши́ла strašíla |
noun person of lesser importance
| Español | hombre de paja |
|---|---|
| Português | laranja, testa de ferro |
| Français | homme de paille |
| Deutsch | Strohmann |
| Italiano | uomo di paglia |
| Ελληνικά | αχυράνθρωπος achyránthropos |
noun insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument
| Español | argucia |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 稻草人 dàocǎorén |
| Português | espantalho |
| Français | homme de paille |
Talk about this word "straw man." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/straw%20man. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. straw man. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/straw%20man "straw man." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/straw%20man.Cite this
@misc{straw_man_2026,
title = {straw man},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/straw%20man},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
