jackstraw

Jack"straw`, n. 1. An effigy stuffed with straw; a scarecrow; hence, a man without property or influence. Milton. 2. One of a set of straws of strips of ivory, bone, wood, etc., for playing a child's game, the jackstraws being thrown confusedly together on a table, to be gathered up singly by a hooked instrument, without touching or disturbing the rest of the pile. See Spilikin.

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