straw

—strawless, adj. —strawlike, adj.

/straw/, n.

1. a single stalk or stem, esp. of certain species of grain, chiefly wheat, rye, oats, and barley.

2. a mass of such stalks, esp. after drying and threshing, used as fodder.

3. material, fibers, etc., made from such stalks, as used for making hats or baskets.

4. the negligible value of one such stalk; trifle; least bit: not to care a straw.

5. a tube, usually of paper or glass, for sucking up a beverage from a container: to sip lemonade through a straw.

6. anything of possible but dubious help in a desperate circumstance.

7. See straw man (def. 2).

8. a straw hat.

9. catch, clutch, or grasp at a straw, at straws, or at any straw or straws, to seize at any chance, no matter how slight, of saving oneself from calamity.

10. draw straws, to decide by lottery using straws or strawlike items of different lengths, usually with the short straw or straws determining the person chosen or the loser.

adj.

11. of, pertaining to, containing, or made of straw: a straw hat.

12. of the color of straw; pale yellow.

13. of little value or consequence; worthless.

14. sham; fictitious.

[bef. 950; ME; OE streaw; c. G Stroh; akin to STREW]

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Stalks of grasses, particularly cereal grasses such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, and buckwheat.

Used collectively, the term means stalks aggregated into bales or piles after the drying and threshing of grain. Since ancient times, humans have used straw as litter and fodder for cattle, as a covering for floors, for coarse bedding, and even as clothing. It can also be woven into baskets, hats, floor mats, and furniture coverings. Thatched roofs consist of straw laid down approximately 1 ft (30 cm) thick and secured by strong cords, with the fibers running in the direction to be taken by rainwater. Chemically pulped straw is used in the manufacture of coarse paper and strawboard, a cardboard for cheap paper boxes.

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▪ agriculture

      the stalks of grasses, particularly of such cereal grasses as wheat, oats, rye, barley, and buckwheat. When used collectively, the term straw denotes such stalks in the aggregate after the drying and threshing of grain.

      Human beings from ancient times have used straw as litter and fodder for cattle, as a covering for floors, for coarse bedding, and even as clothing. The thatched roof, which is still used in some parts of the world, consists of straw laid down to a thickness of 1 foot (0.3 m) or more and secured by strong cords, with the fibres running in the direction to be taken by rainwater. Straw may also be woven to make baskets or hats. Either in its natural colour or dyed in attractive hues, straw is woven into matting for floor and furniture coverings in some regions. In modern industry, chemically pulped straw is used in the manufacture of coarse paper and in a type of cardboard (strawboard) that is suited to the production of cheap paper boxes. Straw has also been used to fabricate sun-dried bricks (brick and tile). The latter are made of clay that is moistened and kneaded and then combined with chopped straw, after which it is dried in the sun or baked in crude ovens. The use of straw in making bricks is mentioned in the Old Testament.

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