straw boss
a member of a work crew, as in a factory or logging camp, who acts as a boss; assistant foreman.
Origin of straw boss
1Words Nearby straw boss
Other definitions for straw-boss (2 of 2)
to act as a straw boss to: She was assigned to straw-boss the night shift.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use straw boss in a sentence
If anyone gets fresh the straw boss can jump him, or kick him out, but those that stick with the gang have to listen to him.
The Onslaught from Rigel | Fletcher PrattFor the horseman who had ridden out of the covert was Stroud, the Rancho Seco straw-boss.
'Drag' Harlan | Charles Alden SeltzerBill could see only one thingthe straw-boss was afraid of him.
The Snow-Burner | Henry OyenHe was a straw boss or foreman, Ramsay decided, and his voice betrayed his New England forebears.
The Spell of the White Sturgeon | James Arthur KjelgaardSwamp's End—and the roaring hilarity thereof—for man and boy, straw-boss and cookee, of the lumber-jacks!
Christmas Eve at Swamp's End | Norman Duncan
Other Idioms and Phrases with straw boss
A subordinate boss, a worker who supervises other workers as well as performing regular duties. For example, Jim was pleased when he was promoted to straw boss. This term alludes to the person's position as a straw man, that is, a front or cover for the real boss and of only nominal importance. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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