Jack Straw
Straw-stuffed farm figure
Jack Straw is a figure of no importance—a man of straw, a nobody.
The term dates to peasant rebellions when it named an anonymous common man.
It survives mainly in the phrase a Jack Straw, meaning someone insignificant or a mere puppet.
Jack Straw is also a children's game of pick-up sticks, where thin sticks are dropped in a pile and players take turns removing them without disturbing the rest.
Decoy to frighten birds
- harvestGathering mature crops
- Peasants' RevoltMedieval English commoner rebellion
- folk songTraditional community music
- balladNarrative poem or song
effigy · tradition · nursery rhyme · folk tale · rural · agrarian · peasant · commoner
Medieval English commoner rebellion
- uprisingOrganized resistance to power
- insurrectionViolent uprising against authority
- revoltOrganized resistance to power
- TylerPersonal name, either first or last
Essex · poll tax · agitation · unrest · radical · mob · ringleader · sedition
National legislative assembly
- cabinetEnclosed storage furniture
- Foreign SecretaryUK cabinet diplomat chief
- LabourBritish left-leaning party
- MPElected parliamentary representative
Blackburn · Blair · Iraq War · legislation · minister · British politics · House of Commons · government
Reasoned case or dispute
- misrepresentationFalse or misleading statement
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- distortionTwisting from original state
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
oversimplification · rhetorical device · logical fallacy · refutation · weak argument · red herring · false premise · counterargument
Legendary jam band
- GarciaSpanish-origin surname
- jam bandImprovisation-heavy live music group
- live performanceUnrecorded staged entertainment
- setlistOrdered concert songs
psychedelic · Americana · improvisational · concert · lyrics · folk rock
scarecrow
Decoy to frighten birds
- harvestGathering mature crops
- Peasants' RevoltMedieval English commoner rebellion
- folk songTraditional community music
ballad · effigy · tradition · nursery rhyme · folk tale · rural · agrarian · peasant · commoner · symbolic figure
Peasants' Revolt
Medieval English commoner rebellion
- uprisingOrganized resistance to power
- insurrectionViolent uprising against authority
- revoltOrganized resistance to power
Tyler · Essex · poll tax · agitation · unrest · radical · mob · ringleader · sedition · discontent
parliament
National legislative assembly
- cabinetEnclosed storage furniture
- Foreign SecretaryUK cabinet diplomat chief
- LabourBritish left-leaning party
MP · Blackburn · Blair · Iraq War · legislation · minister · British politics · House of Commons · government · New Labour
argument
Reasoned case or dispute
- misrepresentationFalse or misleading statement
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- distortionTwisting from original state
sophistry · oversimplification · rhetorical device · logical fallacy · refutation · weak argument · red herring · false premise · counterargument
Grateful Dead
Legendary jam band
- GarciaSpanish-origin surname
- jam bandImprovisation-heavy live music group
- live performanceUnrecorded staged entertainment
setlist · psychedelic · Americana · improvisational · concert · lyrics · folk rock
- Blair EraTony Blair, New Labour, Gordon Brown, spin doctors, Downing Street
Jack StrawMargaret Thatcher
Jack Strawreal person
genuine article · flesh and blood · power broker · mover and shaker · heavyweight