jackstraw

[ jak-straw ]
/ ˈdʒækˌstrɔ /

noun

one of a group of strips of wood or similar objects, as straws or toothpicks, used in the game of jackstraws.
jackstraws, (used with a singular verb) a game in which players compete in picking up, one by one, as many jackstraws as possible without disturbing the heap.
Obsolete.
  1. a straw-stuffed figure of a man; scarecrow; straw man.
  2. an insignificant person.

Origin of jackstraw

First recorded in 1590–1600; after Jack Straw, name or nickname of one of the leaders of the rebellion headed by Wat Tyler in 1381 in England

Words nearby jackstraw

jacksonism, jacksonville, jacksonville beach, jackstay, jackstone, jackstraw, jackstraws, jacky, jacky howe, jacky tar, jackyard

Example sentences from the Web for jackstraw

  • What a jackstraw world this had proved itself to him in this last week!

    The Web of the Golden Spider |Frederick Orin Bartlett

  • The forest, swept as by a giant broom, became a jackstraw tangle of destruction.

    Darkness and Dawn |George Allan England