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What does 'straw man'/'man of straw' mean?
Somebody told me the word 'straw man'/'man of straw' means something to the effect of either:
A) a person who holds the common man's opinion
B) such an opinion
The term is probably derogatory in nature.
I've tried searching for this particular definition and the closest thing I came across was "A person of weak characters", which I don't believe is the same as either (A) or (B).
My question is, has anyone either heard of or used the word as it is defined in (A) or (B)?
EDIT 1: (A) was described as "a person who holds a common man's opinion OR a person who holds an opinion even if he's oblivious on the matter"
2 Answers
- ?Lv 76 years ago
A "straw man" is weak argument set up to be easily refuted or a person used as a "front" for some questionable activity ... A "man of straw" is a person of weak character.