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straw vote - 4 dictionary results

straw vote

 
Use straw vote in a Sentence
–noun
an unofficial vote taken to obtain an indication of the general trend of opinion on a particular issue.
Also called straw poll.

Origin:
1885–90, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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straw vote  
n.  An unofficial vote or poll indicating the trend of opinion on a candidate or issue. Also called straw poll.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main Entry:  straw vote
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  See straw poll
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
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straw vote

Also, straw poll. An unofficial vote or poll indicating how people feel about a candidate or issue. For example, Let's take a straw poll on the bill and see how it fares. This idiom alludes to a straw used to show in what direction the wind blows, in this case the wind of public opinion. O. Henry joked about it in A Ruler of Men (1907): "A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows." [c. 1885]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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