jackstraw

1 9.9

Thin piece of wood or plastic in a game where players remove pieces without moving others

noun
/ˈdʒækˌstrɔ/

: palito de jackstraw

But it's more like the motion of a drunkard, tottering, dizzy, out of control, or like the motion of jackstraws tossed around by gusts of wind.
jackstraw pile

Examples

I just wanted some to play jackstraws with.

The Bad Seed (1956)
They look like jackstraws and stuff like that.

Woodstock (1970)
Zero, a goose egg, jackstraw, ni, nada, zot, zilch, squirt, a dry hump, diddly squat.

Fiction book (1995)
To win the game, you need to carefully remove each jackstraw from the pile without making the others fall.
The jackstraw pieces were colorful and made from lightweight wood, perfect for the game.
He reached for a jackstraw at the bottom of the pile, trying not to disturb the others.

Synonyms

spillikin

vsjackstraw

Archaic

9.9

A thin stick of wood used to play pick-up sticks

is the same piece but often made from plastic instead of straw or wood

Idioms

to care a jackstraw

Archaic

9.9

To feel no interest or concern about something

How Thin

jackstraw

1 9.9

slat

15 4.0

Surface Forms

jackstraw singular

jackstraws plural

Morphology

jackstraw = jack + straw (semi-transparent) = jack + straw

The components 'jack' and 'straw' are identifiable, but the lexicalized meaning 'a small stick used in the game' is a specialized noun and the role of 'jack' is not fully productive.

Etymology

Jackstraw comes from the parts jack, a common small name for a man or a small thing, and straw, which means 'dried grass', because the first game used thin sticks of straw. So a jackstraw is a small thin stick used in the game, which explains why today it means a thin wooden or plastic strip players try to lift without moving the others.