Definition of "straw" []

• Stalks of threshed grain, used as bedding and food for animals, for thatching, and for weaving or braiding, as into baskets. (noun)
• A single stalk of threshed grain. (noun)
• Something, such as a hat or basket, made of straw. (noun)
• A slender tube used for sucking up a liquid. (noun)
• Something of minimal value or importance. (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.

• "I know the difference by knowing my own: in my country, _if the prince says, "Eat straw" we eat straw_. '"
• "The word straw has often been used to refer to things that are not quite valid or sincere."
• "Ah, the straw-man or what I dub the straw-horse argument."