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straw
straw / strô/ • n. 1. dried stalks of grain, used esp. as fodder or as material for thatching, packing, or weaving: [as adj.] a straw hat. ∎ a pale yellow color like that of straw: [as adj.] a dull straw color. ∎ used in reference to something insubstantial or worthless: it seemed as if the words were merely straw. ∎ anything or at all (used to emphasize how little something is valued): if he finds you here, my life won't be worth a straw. 2. a single dried stalk of grain: the tramp sat chewing a straw. ∎ a stalk of grain or something similar used in drawing lots: we had to draw straws for the food we had. 3. a thin hollow tube of paper or plastic for sucking drink from a glass or bottle. PHRASES: grasp (or clutch or catch) at straws (or a straw) be in such a desperate situation as to resort to even the most unlikely means of salvation. draw the short straw be the unluckiest of a group of people, esp. in being chosen to perform an unpleasant task. the last (or final) straw a further difficulty or annoyance, typically minor in itself but coming on top of a whole series of difficulties, that makes a situation unbearable: his affair was the last straw. a straw in the wind a slight hint of future developments.DERIVATIVES: straw·y adj. |
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"straw." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "straw." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-straw.html "straw." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-straw.html |
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straw
straw in proverbial or allusive use, something of small value, lack of substance or value, or inflammability. (See also straws.)
draw the short straw be the unluckiest of a group of people, especially in being chosen to perform an unpleasant task; with reference to a method drawing lots that involves holding several straws of varying lengths with one end concealed in the hand, and inviting other members of the group to take one each. the final straw a further difficulty or annoyance, typically minor in itself but coming on top of a whole series of difficulties, that makes a situation unbearable; with allusion to the proverb, it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back. man of straw originally, a dummy or image made of straw; from this, a person compared to a straw image, a sham; a sham argument set up to be defeated. straw poll an unofficial ballot conducted as a test of opinion. The term is recorded from the mid 20th century; the earlier straw vote dates (in the US) from 1866. See also bricks without straw, a drowning man will clutch at a straw, straws. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "straw." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "straw." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-straw.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "straw." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-straw.html |
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straw
straw dried stalks of threshed grains, especially wheat, barley, oats, and rye. It has been used from antiquity for bedding, covering floors, and thatching roofs, as fodder and litter for animals, and in weaving such articles as mats, screens, baskets, ornaments and hangings, hats, sandals, fans, and armor. Straw hats are woven in one piece or made from braids sewn together. Braids have been made in Europe from medieval times and probably originated in Tuscany, Italy. They are usually made from straw selected for color, length, and lightness and are grown under special conditions of soil and climate. Fine braids, such as leghorn, are commonly of wheat stalks, often cut before they are fully ripe. Hats made of other fibers, such as the leaf fiber of the screw pine used for Panama hats, are also known as straw hats. Straw was once widely used as a packing material and in the manufacture of strawboard (a cheap cardboard) and, in combination with less brittle materials, of paper. More recently, tightly packed bales of straw have been used like bricks to build house walls; the straw-bale wall is covered with plaster or another material. See hay . |
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"straw." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "straw." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-straw.html "straw." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-straw.html |
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straw
straw Used by the Israelites enslaved in Egypt for binding mud bricks, but to make conditions harder for the slaves, straw was later withheld (Exod. 5: 7–18). Straw was also valuable as fodder (1 Kgs. 4: 28) and the chaff (husks) was separated by winnowing from the edible corn and blown away. Using harvest as a symbol of the final judgment, John the Baptist the Baptist says that the ‘chaff’ will be destroyed (Matt. 3: 12), adding the method, that it will be by ‘fire’ (a hint of Gehenna, Matt. 18: 9) which was not part of the agricultural process in that age.
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "straw." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "straw." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-straw.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "straw." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-straw.html |
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straw
straw1 (coll. sg.) stems or stalks of cereals OE.; single stem XII. OE. strēaw = OS., OHG. strō (Du. stroo, G. stroh), ON. strá :- Gmc. *strāwam, rel. to STREW. Comp. strawberry OE. strēa(w)- beriġe, strēow-; the reason for the name is unkn.
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T. F. HOAD. "straw." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "straw." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-straw.html T. F. HOAD. "straw." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-straw.html |
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straw
straw2 (arch.) scatter XII; cover with something scattered XIII. Differentiated repr. of OE. streawian, var. of stre(o)wian STREW.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "straw." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "straw." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-straw1.html T. F. HOAD. "straw." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-straw1.html |
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straw
straw
•abhor, adore, afore, anymore, ashore, awe, bandore, Bangalore, before, boar, Boer, bore, caw, chore, claw, cocksure, comprador, cor, core, corps, craw, Delors, deplore, door, draw, drawer, evermore, explore, flaw, floor, for, forbore, fore, foresaw, forevermore, forswore, four, fourscore, furthermore, Gábor, galore, gnaw, gore, grantor, guarantor, guffaw, hard-core, Haugh, haw, hoar, ignore, implore, Indore, interwar, jaw, Johor, Lahore, law, lessor, lor, lore, macaw, man-o'-war, maw, mirador, mor, more, mortgagor, Mysore, nevermore, nor, oar, obligor, offshore, onshore, or, ore, outdoor, outwore, paw, poor, pore, pour, rapport, raw, roar, saw, scaur, score, senhor, señor, shaw, ship-to-shore, shop-floor, shore, signor, Singapore, snore, soar, softcore, sore, spore, squaw, store, straw, swore, Tagore, tau, taw, thaw, Thor, threescore, tor, tore, torr, trapdoor, tug-of-war, two-by-four, underfloor, underscore, war, warrantor, Waugh, whore, withdraw, wore, yaw, yore, your
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Cite this article
"straw." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "straw." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-straw.html "straw." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-straw.html |
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