strawman

Everyday

1. (logic) A strawman is an unfair trick in an argument: you change the other person's idea into a weaker or sillier version and then attack that instead of what they really said. tree →
2. A straw man is also a figure made of straw, like a scarecrow or a dummy for practice. tree →
3. (informal) A straw man can be a person used to hide who is really behind something. tree →

In the lessons

In lessons on logic, debating and checking the news, the strawman is a common "fallacy" (a mistake in reasoning) — to argue fairly, repeat the other person's real point first. Example: "I think we should have less homework." "So you think children shouldn't learn anything!" That reply is a strawman.

Examples

• Saying I hate all vegetables because I don't like peas is a strawman. tree →
• "You want less homework, so you don't care about learning!" — that's a strawman argument. tree →
• Politicians sometimes attack a strawman instead of the real idea. tree →
• The scarecrow was a straw man stuffed with hay. tree →
• Don't strawman my point; listen to what I actually said. tree →
• Our debate coach taught us to spot strawman arguments. tree →
• Knights practised with their lances on a straw man. tree →

Note

Written as one word (strawman) or two (straw man); both are used. It is a fallacy, not just a disagreement: it means misrepresenting someone's view. The fair opposite is called "steelmanning" — stating the other person's view in its strongest form.