Question

Choose the correct meaning of the given phrase :

"A man of straw"

a)A man of no substance
b)A very active person
c)A worthy fellow
d)An unreasonable person
e)None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Phrases are words or idioms that are not meant to be taken literally and usually have a traditional meaning behind them.

Complete answer:

Most of the English idioms or phrases you hear are offering you advice but also contain some underlying principles and values. If you can't understand phrases, you will not be able to understand the context, as it may have been metaphorically saying. In the given question, the phrase is "A man of straw". This phrase means, a man whose character is weak, and the one who lacks definite beliefs. For example, The party is run by men of straw without guts and without principles. This idiom/phrase compares a person to a model of a man filled with straw(which means, the stem of grain plants such as wheat, that have been cut, and dried). Option a is "A man of no substance", which means someone who has a lot of power, money, or influence, so, this option can be eliminated. Option b is "A very active man", which is completely opposite to the meaning of the given phrase, likely is option c, "A worthy fellow". Option d is "An unreasonable person", which means a person who is not guided or based on good sense. It completely matches the meaning of the given phrase. Hence, the correct answer is option d, an unreasonable person.

Note: We can also find the meaning of the given phrase by simply comparing the meaning of the base word.