Straw vs Chaff - What's the difference?
straw | chaff |
(countable) A dried stalk of a cereal plant.
(uncountable) Such dried stalks considered collectively.
(countable) A drinking straw.
a pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.
(figurative) Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing.
*XIX c. , recorded by Francis James Child,
*:‘For thy sword and thy bow I care not a straw ,
*:Nor all thine arrows to boot;
*:If I get a knop upon thy bare scop,
*:Thou canst as well shite as shoote.’
*1857 , Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers :
*:He also decided, which was more to his purpose, that Eleanor did not care a straw for him, and that very probably she did care a straw for his rival.
*1881 , :
*:To be deeply interested in the accidents of our existence, to enjoy keenly the mixed texture of human experience, rather leads a man to disregard precautions, and risk his neck against a straw .
Made of straw.
Of a pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.
The inedible parts of a grain-producing plant.
* Dryden
By extension, any excess or unwanted material, resource, or person; anything worthless.
* Shakespeare
Loose material dropped from aircraft specifically to interfere with radar detection.
Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle.
* Wyatt
Light jesting talk; banter; raillery.
To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.
To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language; to quiz.
As nouns the difference between straw and chaff
is that straw is a dried stalk of a cereal plant while chaff is the inedible parts of a grain-producing plant.As an adjective straw
is made of straw.As a proper noun Straw
is {{surname|from=nicknames}.As a verb chaff is
to use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.straw
English
Noun
Derived terms
* * strawberryAdjective
(-)- straw hat
Derived terms
* cheese straw * drinking straw * draw the short straw * grasp at straws * jackstraw * the last straw * the final straw * make bricks without straw * man of straw * pine straw * silly straw * straw boss * straw buyer * straw hat * straw in the wind * straw man * straw mushroom * straw poll * the straw that broke the camel's back * straw that stirs the drink * straw vote * straw wine * strawboard * straw-coloured * strawflower * strawworm * windlestrawSee also
* balibuntal * buntal * corn dolly * etiolated * fescue * huarache * leghorn * paillasse * paillette * pallet * parabuntal * rick * sacaton * skep * stipule * stubble * zori *Anagrams
* *chaff
English
Noun
(-)- To separate out the chaff , early cultures tossed baskets of grain into the air and let the wind blow away the lighter chaff.
- So take the corn and leave the chaff behind.
- There are plenty of good books on the subject, but take care to separate the wheat from the chaff .
- the chaff and ruin of the times
- By adding chaff' to his corn, the horse must take more time to eat it. In this way ' chaff is very useful.