WordWeb Online

1. A person used as a cover for some questionable activity
   - front man, front, figurehead, nominal head, straw man
    
2. A weak or sham argument set up to be easily refuted
   - straw man
    
3. An effigy in the shape of a man to frighten birds away from seeds
   - scarecrow, straw man, bird-scarer, scarer

Derived forms: strawmen, straw men

Type of: beguiler, cheat, cheater, deceiver, effigy, image, simulacrum, slicker [informal], specious argument, trickster

Encyclopedia: Strawman