jackstraw

American  

[jak-straw] / ˈdʒækˌstrɔ /

noun

1. one of a group of strips of wood or similar objects, as straws or toothpicks, used in the game of jackstraws.

2. (used with a singular verb) jackstraws, a game in which players compete in picking up, one by one, as many jackstraws as possible without disturbing the heap.

3. Obsolete.

   1. a straw-stuffed figure of a man; scarecrow; straw man.

   2. an insignificant person.

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Etymology

Origin of jackstraw

First recorded in 1590–1600; after Jack Straw, name or nickname of one of the leaders of the rebellion headed by Wat Tyler in 1381 in England

Example Sentences

On Ghika's canvas, Paris' chimneyed rooftops, the jackstraw confusion of a Greek hillside town become strict, disciplined designs blocked in with arbitrary colors.

From Time Magazine Archive

Somewhere in the vast pile of jittery, jackstraw masonry he hopes to find an unrobbed royal tomb, protected by an architect's error 5,000 years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the distance, against billowing white clouds, stood a jackstraw jumble of ships' masts.

From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman

The forest, swept as by a giant broom, became a jackstraw tangle of destruction.

From Darkness and Dawn by England, George Allan

The players sit round the table and with little hooks try in turn to lift one jackstraw out of the heap, without moving any of the others.

From A Straight Deal or The Ancient Grudge by Wister, Owen