scarecrow

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/ˈskerˌkroʊ/
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A field decoy for scaring birds, with figurative uses for empty threats, gaunt or ragged people, and rare literary descriptions of stiff, splayed shapes.
Practice using scarecrow in conversation until it feels natural

Examples

  • Opponents called the warning a scarecrow meant to silence debate.
  • Do not call someone a scarecrow unless the insult is intended.
  • The portrait shows a ragged scarecrow with hollow cheeks.
  • Crows soon ignored the old scarecrow in the field.
  • That old rumor is a scarecrow, frightening at first but harmless up close.

Similar words

unkempt person
straw figure
effigy
sprawl
field figure
dummy
paper tiger
phantom danger
distort
ragamuffin

Meanings

Field figure for scaring birds

noun
agriculture
neutral
A human-shaped figure put in a field or garden to frighten birds away from seeds and crops.

Usage

Use scarecrow for the farm or garden decoy, especially one made from sticks, straw, and old clothes.

Examples

  • The farmer put a scarecrow beside the corn.
  • Crows soon ignored the old scarecrow in the field.
  • They stuffed a scarecrow with straw for the harvest display.
  • A row of scarecrows guarded the vegetable patch.
  • The wind shook the scarecrow's coat all night.
  • Modern farms may use noise machines instead of scarecrows.

Common mistakes

The word is sometimes treated as any frightening person or object, but the literal sense is a bird-scaring field figure.
IncorrectCorrect
The loud alarm was a scarecrow in the hallway. The loud alarm was a warning in the hallway.
The farmer built two scarecrowes. The farmer built two scarecrows.
A scarecrow is used to feed birds. A scarecrow is used to scare birds away.

Similar words

bird scarer
decoy
effigy
dummy
mannequin
straw figure
field figure
pest deterrent

Frightening but harmless thing

noun
figurative
neutral
A person, object, or warning that looks threatening but has little real power to harm.

Usage

Use scarecrow figuratively when something is meant to frighten people but turns out to be weak or harmless.

Examples

  • The threat proved to be a scarecrow once no one enforced it.
  • Opponents called the warning a scarecrow meant to silence debate.
  • That old rumor is a scarecrow, frightening at first but harmless up close.
  • The locked gate became a scarecrow for trespassers, though it was never checked.
  • The lawsuit was little more than a scarecrow.
  • He used the budget crisis as a political scarecrow.

Common mistakes

The figurative sense is weakened when it is used for a real and immediate danger.
IncorrectCorrect
The burning building was only a scarecrow. The burning building was a real danger.
The harmless sign was a serious scarecrow. The harmless sign was a scarecrow.
The scarecrow attacked the village. The threat frightened the village.

Similar words

bogeyman
paper tiger
empty threat
false alarm
phantom danger
bogey
bluff
deterrent

Thin or ragged person

noun
appearance
informal
A very thin, poorly dressed, or untidy-looking person, usually described in an insulting or pitying way.

Usage

Use scarecrow for this appearance only when the sharp, often unkind comparison is intended.

Examples

  • After weeks on the road, he came home looking like a scarecrow.
  • The coat hung from the thin scarecrow of a man.
  • She called herself a scarecrow when the costume swallowed her frame.
  • The portrait shows a ragged scarecrow with hollow cheeks.
  • The exhausted hikers looked like scarecrows by sunset.
  • Do not call someone a scarecrow unless the insult is intended.

Common mistakes

The appearance sense is sometimes confused with being frightened, but it describes thinness, raggedness, or untidiness.
IncorrectCorrect
She looked like a scarecrow because the movie scared her. She looked scared because the movie frightened her.
He was a scarecrow of kindness. He was a model of kindness.
They wore scarecrow after the rain. They looked like scarecrows after the rain.

Similar words

ragamuffin
skinny person
scruff
waif
bag of bones
thin person
unkempt person
gaunt person

Make something look stiff or splayed

verb
literature
literary
To make a body, limb, garment, or shape look stiff, awkward, spread out, or gaunt like a scarecrow.

Usage

Use scarecrow as a verb mainly in literary description, not in ordinary conversation.

Examples

  • The cold wind scarecrowed his hair into wild tufts.
  • He scarecrowed his arms to keep his balance.
  • The oversized coat scarecrowed her small frame.
  • Branches scarecrowed over the empty lawn.
  • The costume scarecrows the actor's posture.
  • The dancer froze with his elbows scarecrowed outward.

Common mistakes

The verb is rare, and its regular forms are often misspelled or forced into places where a simpler verb works better.
IncorrectCorrect
The coat scarecrowned his shoulders. The coat scarecrowed his shoulders.
He is scarecrow his arms. He is scarecrowing his arms.
Please scarecrow the birds from the garden. Please scare the birds from the garden.

Similar words

splay
stiffen
sprawl
make awkward
make gaunt
stick out
jut
distort

Usage

Use scarecrow first for a bird-scaring field figure, and mark the person, empty-threat, or verb uses as figurative, informal, or literary when context might be unclear.

Common mistakes

Calling any scared person a scarecrow is wrong unless the intended idea is thin, ragged, stiff, or harmlessly frightening.

Etymology

Formed in English from scare and crow. It is recorded from the mid-1500s, first for people or devices used to frighten birds, then for straw figures, harmless terrors, and gaunt-looking people.

FAQ

What is a scarecrow?

A scarecrow is a human-shaped figure put in a field or garden to frighten birds away from seeds and crops.

Can scarecrow mean a person?

Yes. It can describe a very thin, ragged, or untidy-looking person, usually as an insult or a sharp comparison.

What does scarecrow mean figuratively?

It can mean something that seems frightening but is actually weak, harmless, or empty.

Is scarecrow a verb?

Rarely. Literary writing can use scarecrow to mean making something look stiff, splayed, awkward, or gaunt.

What is the plural of scarecrow?

The plural is scarecrows.

Where does scarecrow come from?

It is formed from scare and crow, because the original idea was to frighten crows and other birds away from crops.

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