lightning rod

American  

noun

1. a rodlike conductor installed to divert lightning away from a structure by providing a direct path to the ground.

2. a person or thing that attracts and absorbs powerful and especially negative or hostile feelings, opinions, etc., thereby diverting such feelings from other targets.

   The unpopular supervisor served as a lightning rod for the criticism that should have been aimed at management.

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lightning rod Scientific  

1. A grounded metal rod placed high on a structure to conduct electrical current from a lightning strike directly to the ground, preventing the currents from injuring people or animals or from damaging objects. Lightning rods usually have a sharp, pointed tip, since electric lines of force are more highly concentrated around pointed objects, in this case increasing the attractiveness of the rod compared with other nearby objects.

2. See also Saint Elmo's fire

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Etymology

Origin of lightning rod

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Example Sentences

In the mountains surrounding the city, more than 400 firework manufacturers occupy strictly regulated factories, where workshops are topped with lightning rods.

From Barron's

Since the startup Anthropic launched Claude for Financial Services last summer, “LSEG shares have been a lightning rod for market fears about AI disruption risk,” Jefferies analyst Tom Mills wrote in a note last week.

From The Wall Street Journal

Former chairman Daniel Levy was a permanent lightning rod for the anger of Spurs fans.

From BBC

McSweeney, the departed chief of staff, was often the lightning rod on some of those controversies.

From BBC

Chase began to get a strange feeling about Emily and wondered if this was what his dad experienced when he made his predictions, or what a lightning rod felt just before a strike.

From Literature