STRAW

(DRIED STEMS) [noun] [U] - the dried yellow stems of crops such as wheat or rice which are used as bedding or food for animals and for making traditional objects used in the homeIt's thirsty work stacking bales of straw!Martha bought a lovely straw basket at the craft fair.Gareth had long straw-coloured hair and piercing blue eyes.Frank took off his broad straw hat and nodded to Alexandra.You clutch or grasp at straws when you are willing to try anything to improve a difficult or disadvantageous situation, even if it has little chance of success.She offered to take a pay cut to keep her job, but she was just grasping at straws."I'll do all the housework and gardening if you promise not to leave me," said her boyfriend, clutching at straws.A straw boater is a stiff hat with a flat top and wide straight brim which is traditionally worn when travelling along a river in a boat to protect the wearer from the sun.The rowing crew looked very smart in their blazers and straw boaters.See picture: HatsA straw man or man of straw is someone, often an imaginary person, who is used to hide an illegal or secret activity.The fraud depended on hundreds of bank accounts being opened on behalf of straw men.In a discussion, a straw man or man of straw is also an invented argument which one side accuses the opposing side of supporting in order to defeat that argument completely and so help defeat the opposing side.Both sides in the dispute felt obliged to attack the other, with the result that straw men were often set up in order to be demolished.The idea that national identity will be lost as a result of European integration is just a man of straw which he is wasting his time fighting.A straw poll is an unofficial vote which is taken to discover what people think about an idea or problem or how they intend to vote in an election.A straw poll of local inhabitants in Mediterranean resorts concluded that British tourists were the worst dressed and Italians the most stylish.She overhauled her election campaign when she was placed third in a straw poll.The final straw or the last straw or the straw that breaks the camel's back is a problem which can be dealt with on its own, but which makes a situation very difficult or impossible when it is added to existing problems.Losing my job was bad enough, but being evicted from my house was the straw that broke the camel's back.She's always been rude to me, but it was the last straw when she started insulting my mother.A straw in the wind is something that suggests what might happen.There were a few straws in the wind yesterday which indicated that an air attack was imminent.