noun 1.one of a group of strips of wood or similar objects, as straws or toothpicks, used in the game of jackstraws.
2.jackstraws, ( used with a singular verb ) a game in
which players compete in picking up, one by one, as many jackstraws as possible without disturbing the heap.
3.Obsolete.a.a straw-stuffed figure of a man; scarecrow; straw man.
b.an insignificant person.
Origin:
1590–1600; after Jack Straw, name or nickname of one of the leaders of the rebellion headed by Wat Tyler in 1381 in England