See straw man in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
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"2": "strieman"
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{
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"2": "strooman"
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"2": "Strohmann"
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"etymology_text": "From straw + man.\nRandom 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.”\nCompare West Frisian strieman, Dutch strooman, stroman, German Strohmann, Danish stråmand, Swedish stråman, Norwegian stråmann.",
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"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"code": "bg",
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"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
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{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
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"word": "olkinukke"
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{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"code": "fr",
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"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"masculine"
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"word": "épouvantail"
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{
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"code": "de",
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"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"feminine"
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"word": "Strohpuppe"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "skiáchtro",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "σκιάχτρο"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "spaventapasseri"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "plášilo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "пла́шило"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "strášilo",
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"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "стра́шило"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"word": "espantalho"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"alt": "соло́менное",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "čúčelo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "чу́чело"
},
{
"_dis1": "84 3 7 2 4",
"code": "ru",
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"roman": "púgalo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
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"word": "пу́гало"
},
{
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"raw_tags": [
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"masculine"
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"masculine"
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"common-gender"
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{
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"(figurative) An innocuous person or someone of nominal or lesser importance, as a front man or straw boss."
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{
"_dis1": "1 74 7 1 18",
"code": "bg",
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"roman": "neznačitelen čovek",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
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},
{
"_dis1": "1 74 7 1 18",
"code": "ca",
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"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "home de palla"
},
{
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"code": "da",
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"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "stråmand"
},
{
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"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"word": "mattimeikäläinen"
},
{
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"code": "fr",
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"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "homme de paille"
},
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"lang": "German",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Strohmann"
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"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
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"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "αχυράνθρωπος"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 74 7 1 18",
"code": "hu",
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"word": "stróman"
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{
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"tags": [
"masculine"
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"word": "uomo di paglia"
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"code": "pt",
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"tags": [
"feminine",
"figuratively",
"masculine"
],
"word": "laranja"
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"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"figuratively"
],
"word": "testa de ferro"
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"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"word": "hombre de paja"
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"ref": "2018, Lars Ljungqvist and Thomas J. Sargent, Recursive macroeconomic theory, 4th edition, MIT Press, page 4:",
"text": "This Euler inequality recurs as either the cornerstone or the straw man in many theories contained in this book.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
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"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."
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"id": "en-straw_man-en-noun-3h4-wl-C",
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[
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[
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"endeavor"
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[
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[
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[
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[
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[
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"knock down"
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[
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[
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"(figurative) 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."
],
"tags": [
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],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "2 9 72 4 12",
"code": "bg",
"english": "slab argument",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "слаб аргумент"
},
{
"_dis1": "2 9 72 4 12",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "dàocǎorén",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"word": "稻草人"
},
{
"_dis1": "2 9 72 4 12",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
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},
{
"_dis1": "2 9 72 4 12",
"code": "fi",
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"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"word": "olkinukke"
},
{
"_dis1": "2 9 72 4 12",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"word": "homme de paille"
},
{
"_dis1": "2 9 72 4 12",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "espantalho"
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{
"_dis1": "2 9 72 4 12",
"code": "sv",
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"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "halmgubbe"
},
{
"_dis1": "2 9 72 4 12",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "halmdocka"
}
]
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"_dis": "2 17 21 11 39 10",
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{
"ref": "2000, John W. Reilly, The Language of Real Estate, page 381:",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quote"
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"_dis1": "8 11 27 30 23",
"code": "pt",
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"sense": "initial project spec",
"tags": [
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"word": "esboço"
}
],
"word": "straw man"
}
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"expansion": "German Strohmann",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "da",
"2": "stråmand"
},
"expansion": "Danish stråmand",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "sv",
"2": "stråman"
},
"expansion": "Swedish stråman",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "no",
"2": "stråmann"
},
"expansion": "Norwegian stråmann",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From straw + man.\nRandom 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.”\nCompare West Frisian strieman, Dutch strooman, stroman, German Strohmann, Danish stråmand, Swedish stråman, Norwegian stråmann.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "straw mans",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "straw manning",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "straw manned",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "straw manned",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
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{
"args": {
"1": "++"
},
"expansion": "straw man (third-person singular simple present straw mans, present participle straw manning, simple past and past participle straw manned)",
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"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "3 31 20 6 26 14",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "4 27 19 7 31 11",
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
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{
"_dis": "6 25 19 9 31 10",
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "4 24 18 13 30 10",
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Coordinate term: steelman"
},
{
"text": "Person A: \"Cats have claws.\"\nPerson B: \"Not all cats have claws: some are declawed.\"\nPerson A: \"Don't straw man me; I never said all.\"",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "1996 [Vale Press], Ralph H. Johnson, The Rise of Informal Logic, Windsor Studies in Argumentation, 2014, E-edition, page 178,\nI have also argued that he is guilty of straw manning Copi and that his charge of shoddy reasoning against Kahane makes use of an equivocation on the concept of fallacy."
},
{
"ref": "2016, Stijn Smismans, “5: Regulatory Procedure and Participation in the European Union”, in Francesca Bignami, David Zaring, editors, Comparative Law and Regulation, Edward Elgar Publishing, page 133:",
"text": "¹¹ It should, however, also be noted that in certain cases later \"neo-corporatist authors\" straw manned the pluralist model, making it easier to criticise (Nedelmann and Meier, 1979: 94).",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2021, John T. Lysaker, Philosophy, Writing, and the Character of Thought, University of Chicago Press, page 39:",
"text": "My point does not concern the principle of charity or whether Hickman has straw manned postmodernism.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"id": "en-straw_man-en-verb-7ZJWj2jO",
"links": [
[
"put words in someone's mouth",
"put words in someone's mouth"
]
],
"related": [
{
"word": "straw poll"
},
{
"word": "straw shoe"
},
{
"word": "straw vote"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "18 26 0 0 22 34",
"word": "strawman"
}
]
}
],
"word": "straw man"
}
{
"categories": [
"English compound terms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Bulgarian translations",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Danish translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Macedonian translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"en:Logical fallacies",
"en:People"
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "straw",
"3": "man"
},
"expansion": "straw + man",
"name": "com"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "strieman"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian strieman",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "strooman"
},
"expansion": "Dutch strooman",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Strohmann"
},
"expansion": "German Strohmann",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "da",
"2": "stråmand"
},
"expansion": "Danish stråmand",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "sv",
"2": "stråman"
},
"expansion": "Swedish stråman",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "no",
"2": "stråmann"
},
"expansion": "Norwegian stråmann",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From straw + man.\nRandom 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.”\nCompare West Frisian strieman, Dutch strooman, stroman, German Strohmann, Danish stråmand, Swedish stråman, Norwegian stråmann.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "straw men",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
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"args": {
"1": "straw men"
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"expansion": "straw man (plural straw men)",
"name": "en-noun"
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],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"glosses": [
"A doll or scarecrow, particularly one stuffed with straw."
],
"links": [
[
"doll",
"doll"
],
[
"scarecrow",
"scarecrow"
],
[
"straw",
"straw"
]
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"An innocuous person or someone of nominal or lesser importance, as a front man or straw boss."
],
"links": [
[
"innocuous",
"innocuous"
],
[
"person",
"person"
],
[
"nominal",
"nominal"
],
[
"importance",
"importance"
],
[
"front man",
"front man"
],
[
"straw boss",
"straw boss"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figurative) An innocuous person or someone of nominal or lesser importance, as a front man or straw boss."
],
"tags": [
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"antonyms": [
{
"word": "steelman"
}
],
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2018, Lars Ljungqvist and Thomas J. Sargent, Recursive macroeconomic theory, 4th edition, MIT Press, page 4:",
"text": "This Euler inequality recurs as either the cornerstone or the straw man in many theories contained in this book.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"links": [
[
"insubstantial",
"insubstantial"
],
[
"concept",
"concept"
],
[
"idea",
"idea"
],
[
"endeavor",
"endeavor"
],
[
"argument",
"argument"
],
[
"deliberately",
"deliberately"
],
[
"weakly",
"weakly"
],
[
"supported",
"supported"
],
[
"knocked down",
"knock down"
],
[
"impugn",
"impugn"
],
[
"strength",
"strength"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figurative) 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."
],
"tags": [
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with usage examples",
"en:Business",
"en:Engineering"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "a tentative straw-man spec",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An outline serving as an initial proposal for a project, usually refined iteratively."
],
"links": [
[
"engineering",
"engineering#Noun"
],
[
"business",
"business"
],
[
"outline",
"outline"
],
[
"proposal",
"proposal"
],
[
"project",
"project"
],
[
"iteratively",
"iteratively"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figurative, engineering, business) An outline serving as an initial proposal for a project, usually refined iteratively."
],
"senseid": [
"en:Q7622380"
],
"tags": [
"figuratively"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"engineering",
"natural-sciences",
"physical-sciences"
],
"wikidata": [
"Q7622380"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2000, John W. Reilly, The Language of Real Estate, page 381:",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Synonym of straw buyer"
],
"links": [
[
"straw buyer",
"straw buyer#English"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"tags": [
"synonym",
"synonym-of"
],
"word": "straw buyer"
}
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "strawman"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "plašilo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "плашило"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "espantaocells"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"word": "olkinukke"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "épouvantail"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Strohpuppe"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "skiáchtro",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "σκιάχτρο"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "spaventapasseri"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "plášilo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "пла́шило"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "strášilo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "стра́шило"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"word": "espantalho"
},
{
"alt": "соло́менное",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "čúčelo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "чу́чело"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "púgalo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "пу́гало"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"raw_tags": [
"as a fairy-tale character"
],
"roman": "strašíla",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"mainly",
"masculine"
],
"word": "страши́ла"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"roman": "strašilo",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "страшило"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "espantapájaros"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "halmdocka"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "doll or scarecrow",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "halmgubbe"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "neznačitelen čovek",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "незначителен човек"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "home de palla"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "stråmand"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"word": "mattimeikäläinen"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "homme de paille"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Strohmann"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "achyránthropos",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "αχυράνθρωπος"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"word": "stróman"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "uomo di paglia"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"figuratively",
"masculine"
],
"word": "laranja"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"tags": [
"feminine",
"figuratively"
],
"word": "testa de ferro"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "person of lesser importance",
"word": "hombre de paja"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"english": "slab argument",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "слаб аргумент"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "dàocǎorén",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"word": "稻草人"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "stråmand"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"word": "olkinukke"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"word": "homme de paille"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "espantalho"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "halmgubbe"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "insubstantial or weakly supported concept, idea, endeavor or argument",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "halmdocka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "initial project spec",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "esboço"
}
],
"word": "straw man"
}
{
"categories": [
"English compound terms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Bulgarian translations",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Danish translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Macedonian translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"en:Logical fallacies",
"en:People"
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "straw",
"3": "man"
},
"expansion": "straw + man",
"name": "com"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "strieman"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian strieman",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "strooman"
},
"expansion": "Dutch strooman",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Strohmann"
},
"expansion": "German Strohmann",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "da",
"2": "stråmand"
},
"expansion": "Danish stråmand",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "sv",
"2": "stråman"
},
"expansion": "Swedish stråman",
"name": "cog"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "no",
"2": "stråmann"
},
"expansion": "Norwegian stråmann",
"name": "cog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From straw + man.\nRandom 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.”\nCompare West Frisian strieman, Dutch strooman, stroman, German Strohmann, Danish stråmand, Swedish stråman, Norwegian stråmann.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "straw mans",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "straw manning",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "straw manned",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "straw manned",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "++"
},
"expansion": "straw man (third-person singular simple present straw mans, present participle straw manning, simple past and past participle straw manned)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "straw poll"
},
{
"word": "straw shoe"
},
{
"word": "straw vote"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Coordinate term: steelman"
},
{
"text": "Person A: \"Cats have claws.\"\nPerson B: \"Not all cats have claws: some are declawed.\"\nPerson A: \"Don't straw man me; I never said all.\"",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "1996 [Vale Press], Ralph H. Johnson, The Rise of Informal Logic, Windsor Studies in Argumentation, 2014, E-edition, page 178,\nI have also argued that he is guilty of straw manning Copi and that his charge of shoddy reasoning against Kahane makes use of an equivocation on the concept of fallacy."
},
{
"ref": "2016, Stijn Smismans, “5: Regulatory Procedure and Participation in the European Union”, in Francesca Bignami, David Zaring, editors, Comparative Law and Regulation, Edward Elgar Publishing, page 133:",
"text": "¹¹ It should, however, also be noted that in certain cases later \"neo-corporatist authors\" straw manned the pluralist model, making it easier to criticise (Nedelmann and Meier, 1979: 94).",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2021, John T. Lysaker, Philosophy, Writing, and the Character of Thought, University of Chicago Press, page 39:",
"text": "My point does not concern the principle of charity or whether Hickman has straw manned postmodernism.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"links": [
[
"put words in someone's mouth",
"put words in someone's mouth"
]
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "strawman"
}
],
"word": "straw man"
}
Download raw JSONL data for straw man meaning in English (14.9kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-10 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (df33d17 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.