strawman
Misrepresented opposing position
A strawman is a misrepresentation of someone's argument, set up to be easily knocked down—like a dummy made of straw rather than a real opponent.
That's a strawman—I never said we should eliminate all regulations.
In business, a strawman is a rough preliminary proposal meant to spark discussion and revision, not to be defended as final.
Also spelled straw man.
Intentional misleading distraction
- ad hominemArgument targeting character
- false dilemmaReasoning error limiting options
- slippery slopeArgument predicting inevitable escalation
- circular reasoningFallacy assuming its conclusion
equivocation · non sequitur · hasty generalization · misrepresentation · distortion · caricature · oversimplification · weak argument
Formal argument on issues
- rebuttalFormal response disputing claims
- counterargumentPoint challenging another's position
- refutationDisproving a statement
- premiseFoundation for logical argument
critique · dialectic · disputation · rhetoric · polemic · persuasion · logic · concession
- bonfireLarge outdoor fire
- burningCombustion in progress
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- dummyLifelike substitute figure
figure · puppet · doll · mannequin · likeness · representation · festival · symbolism
red herring
Intentional misleading distraction
- ad hominemArgument targeting character
- false dilemmaReasoning error limiting options
- slippery slopeArgument predicting inevitable escalation
circular reasoning · equivocation · non sequitur · hasty generalization · misrepresentation · distortion · caricature · oversimplification · weak argument · easy target
debate
Formal argument on issues
- rebuttalFormal response disputing claims
- counterargumentPoint challenging another's position
- refutationDisproving a statement
premise · critique · dialectic · disputation · rhetoric · polemic · persuasion · logic · concession · position
Guy Fawkes
dummy · figure · puppet · doll · mannequin · likeness · representation · festival · symbolism · sacrifice
sham
Fraudulent imitation
front · decoy · fake · ruse · feint · subterfuge · guise · dummy · placeholder · token
field
Area of specialty
harvest · autumn · haystack · overalls · flannel · patchwork · burlap · pumpkin · agriculture · rural
- rhetoricrhetoric, persuasion, oratory, argumentation, debate
- fallaciesred herring, circular reasoning, ad hominem, fallacy, slippery slope
- manipulation tacticsgaslighting, guilt trip, guilt-tripping, guilt tripping, emotional blackmail
- Misrepresentationmisrepresent, distort, falsify, misquote, misstate
- substitutessubstitute, subs, replacement, substitutes, stand-in
- logicpremise, premises, conclusion, conclusions, inference