World Book 1997 4.0

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<HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>STRAW</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <A HREF="a.dic">A</A> <A HREF="b.dic">B</A> <A HREF="c.dic">C</A> <A HREF="d.dic">D</A> <A HREF="e.dic">E</A> <A HREF="f.dic">F</A> <A HREF="g.dic">G</A> <A HREF="h.dic">H</A> <A HREF="i.dic">I</A> <A HREF="j.dic">J</A> <A HREF="k.dic">K</A> <A HREF="l.dic">L</A> <A HREF="m.dic">M</A> <A HREF="n.dic">N</A> <A HREF="o.dic">O</A> <A HREF="p.dic">P</A> <A HREF="q.dic">Q</A> <A HREF="r.dic">R</A> <A HREF="s.dic">S</A> <A HREF="t.dic">T</A> <A HREF="u.dic">U</A> <A HREF="v.dic">V</A> <A HREF="w.dic">W</A> <A HREF="x.dic">X</A> <A HREF="y.dic">Y</A> <A HREF="z.dic">Z</A> <A NAME="straw"> straw, noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1. the stalks or stems of grain after drying and threshing. Straw is used for bedding for horses and cows, for making hats, and for many other purposes. <DD> 2. one such stem or stalk. Straws are hollow. <DD> 3. a tube. Straws made of waxed paper, plastic, or glass are used for sucking up drinks. <DD> 4. (Figurative.) <DD> a. a bit; trifle. Ex. He doesn't care a straw. <DD> b. a minor thing that indicates how something else may turn out. Ex. Already there are a few straws which the Republican National Committee is eying hopefully (Harper's). <DD> 5. (Informal.) a straw hat. Ex. I've already talked about her glorious flower-laden straws (New Yorker). <DD>adj. 1. made of straw. Ex. a straw hat. <DD> 2. of the color of straw; pale-yellow; straw-colored. Ex. a straw coat. <DD> 3. (Figurative.) of little value or consequence; worthless. Ex. a straw bid. <DD> 4. of or having to do with an unofficial or informal collecting of votes. Ex. If the straw ballots are accurate, the Conservative candidate may draw as many as 400,000 votes (New York Times). expr. grasp (or clutch, or catch) at straws (or at a straw), to try anything in desperation. Ex. Girls desperate for friendship and kindness ... tend to clutch at straws (Manchester Guardian Weekly). A drowning man will catch at a straw, the proverb says (Samuel Richardson). expr. straw in the wind, something taken as an indication of a trend. Ex. A more specific election straw in the wind can be found in yesterday's heavy buying of steel shares (Wall Street Journal). adj. strawlike. </DL> <A NAME="strawbail"> straw bail,<DL COMPACT><DD> bail furnished by a person not possessing the property he pretends to have. </DL> <A NAME="strawbass"> straw bass, =largemouth bass.</DL> <A NAME="strawberry"> strawberry, noun, pl. -ries.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a small, juicy, red fruit that is good to eat. It has many tiny, yellow seeds on the skin. <DD> 2. the low plant that it grows on. The varieties of strawberry comprise a genus of the rose family. </DL> <A NAME="strawberrybass"> strawberry bass, =calico bass.</DL> <A NAME="strawberryblite"> strawberry blite,<DL COMPACT><DD> a low, weedy plant of the goosefoot family with globular clusters of flowers and bright-red fruit. </DL> <A NAME="strawberryblonde"> strawberry blonde or blond,<DL COMPACT><DD> a person, especially a girl or woman, with reddish blonde hair. </DL> <A NAME="strawberrybush"> strawberry bush,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a low, upright or straggling North American shrub of the staff-tree family with crimson fruit and seeds with scarlet coverings. <DD> 2. =wahoo (1). </DL> <A NAME="strawberryfinch"> strawberry finch, =amadavat.</DL> <A NAME="strawberryguava"> strawberry guava,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a species of guava growing in Brazil and yielding a dark-red fruit. <DD> 2. the fruit. </DL> <A NAME="strawberryleaf"> strawberry leaf,<DL COMPACT><DD> the trifoliate leaflike ornament on the coronet of a duke, marquis, or earl, commonly taken as the symbol of the rank involved. </DL> <A NAME="strawberrymark"> strawberry mark,<DL COMPACT><DD> a soft, reddish birthmark slightly raised above the skin. </DL> <A NAME="strawberryshrub"> strawberry shrub,<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) any one of various shrubs having brownish or purplish-red flowers with a fragrance like that of strawberries. </DL> <A NAME="strawberrytomato"> strawberry tomato,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. the small, edible, yellowish or greenish fruit of a ground cherry that looks like a tomato. <DD> 2. the plant it grows on. </DL> <A NAME="strawberrytree"> strawberry tree,<DL COMPACT><DD> a low evergreen tree of the heath family having a bright-scarlet fruit resembling a strawberry, cultivated for ornament. </DL> <A NAME="strawboard"> strawboard, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a coarse, yellowish cardboard made of straw pulp, used for boxes and packing. </DL> <A NAME="strawboss"> straw boss,<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Informal.) an assistant foreman. </DL> <A NAME="strawcloth"> straw cloth,<DL COMPACT><DD> cloth of natural or synthetic straw, used especially for hats and handbags. </DL> <A NAME="strawcolor"> straw color,<DL COMPACT><DD> the color of straw; pale yellow. </DL> <A NAME="strawcolored"> straw-colored, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of a straw color; pale-yellow. Ex. straw-colored hair. </DL> <A NAME="strawflower"> strawflower, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various flowers that keep their shape and color when dry, especially a tall annual herb of the composite family, having yellow, orange, red, or white flowers. </DL> <A NAME="strawhat"> straw-hat, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) of or having to do with plays, concerts, or the like, performed during the summer in suburban or country areas. Ex. a straw-hat theater. The show tried out with some success on the straw-hat circuits this summer (Time). </DL> <A NAME="strawman"> straw man,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. an imaginary opponent or opposing argument, put up in order to be defeated or refuted; man of straw. <DD> 2. a person put up as a surety in a fraudulent action. Ex. The usual procedure ... is for straw men to set up the Corporation and then resign to turn it over to its directors (Wall Street Journal). <DD> 3. =puppet (def. 1b). </DL> <A NAME="strawpoll"> straw poll,<DL COMPACT><DD> an unofficial poll taken to estimate the amount of support for or strength of opposing candidates or opinions on various issues. Ex. A straw poll shows him leading other contenders for the nomination (Time). </DL> <A NAME="strawride"> straw ride,<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a hayride. </DL> <A NAME="strawstack"> strawstack, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large, outdoor pile of straw. </DL> <A NAME="strawvote"> straw vote,<DL COMPACT><DD> an unofficial vote taken to find out general opinion or to estimate the strength of opposing candidates. Ex. The continued strength of the Labor party is suggested by straw votes (New York Times). </DL> <A NAME="strawwine"> straw wine,<DL COMPACT><DD> wine made from grapes dried or partly dried in the sun on straw, usually sweet and rich. </DL> <A NAME="strawworm"> strawworm, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. the larva of certain chalcid flies, that attacks grain stalks. <DD> 2. =caddis worm. </DL> <A NAME="strawy"> strawy, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. of, containing, or like straw. <DD> 2. strewn or thatched with straw. </DL> <A NAME="strawyard"> strawyard, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a yard littered with straw, in which horses and cattle are wintered. <DD> 2. (Informal.) a man's straw hat. </DL> <A NAME="stray"> stray, verb, adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD>v.i. 1. to lose one's way; wander; roam. Ex. straying about in a strange city. Our dog has strayed off somewhere. (SYN) rove, straggle. <DD> 2. (Figurative.) to turnfrom the right course; go wrong. Ex. We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep (Book of Common Prayer). Most of us have ... a readiness to stray far, ever so far, on the wrong road (Joseph Conrad). (SYN) deviate, err. <DD> 3. (Figurative.) to wander, as in mind or purpose; digress. Ex. I am straying from the question (Oliver Goldsmith). <DD>adj. 1. wandering; lost. Ex. A stray cat is crying at the door. <DD> 2. here and there; scattered. Ex. a stray customer or two, stray thoughts. There were a few stray fishermen's huts along the beach. <DD> 3. separated from the rest; isolated. Ex. a stray copy of a book. <DD>noun 1. an animal that has wandered away from its flock, home, or owner; lost animal; wanderer. Ex. That cat is a stray that we took in. <DD> 2. any homeless or friendless person or animal. <DD> 3. something that has wandered from its usual or proper place. expr. strays, (Electronics.) static. Ex. Thomas Edison ... says, "Marvellous! marvellous! but let us not forget that there are such things as electric strays" (Westminster Gazette). noun strayer. </DL> <A NAME="streak"> streak, noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1. a long, thin mark or line. Ex. He has a streak of dirt on his face. We saw streaks of lightning. She gets up at the first streak of daylight. A window, through which the first streaks of light could be seen (Time). <DD> 2a. a layer. Ex. Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. <DD> b. a stratum or vein of ore. <DD> 3. (Figurative.) a vein; strain; element. Ex. He has a streak of humor though he looks very serious. (SYN) trace, touch. <DD> 4. (Informal, Figurative.) a brief period; spell. Ex. a streak of luck. <DD> 5. (Mineralogy.) the line of colored powder produced by scratching a mineral or rubbing it on a harder surface, forming an important distinguishing character. Hematite has a red streak, magnetite a black streak. <DD> 6. (Bacteriology.) the distribution of material to be inoculated over the surface of a medium in a line or stripe. <DD> 7. a flash of lightning. Ex. A dazzling streak lit up the sky. <DD> 8. an act or instance of streaking. <DD>v.t. to put long, thin marks or lines on. Ex. The Indians used to streak their faces with paint. She usually streaks her brown hair with a blond color. <DD>v.i. 1. to become streaked or streaky. <DD> 2. (Informal.) to move very fast; go at full speed. Ex. Our man streaked past the others and over the finishing line. <DD> 3. to dash naked through a public area, especially as a fad. expr. like a streak, (Informal.) very fast; at full speed. Ex. The dog ran like a streak across the lawn. </DL> <A NAME="streakcamera"> streak camera,<DL COMPACT><DD> a high-speed camera for photographing rapidly moving objects, such as a bird or a bullet in flight. Ex. The best streak cameras ... attained time resolutions of around 40 picoseconds (New Scientist). </DL> <A HREF="streakco.dic">NEXT</A>