Definition of "scarecrow" [scare•crow]

• A crude image or effigy of a person set up in a field to scare birds away from growing crops. (noun)
• Something frightening but not dangerous. (noun)
• A gaunt or haggard person. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The scarecrow is placed in a field, and there it could have remained."
• "Actually, the more I think about it, this scarecrow is decidedly odd."
• "The strawman scarecrow is always the what OPUS penDEIjo brings to the party."