scarecrow

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a human-shaped figure placed in a field to frighten birds away from crops

   The farmer tied an old coat around the scarecrow before planting the corn.

2. 2
   noun

   a very thin, ragged, or awkward-looking person

   After weeks in the wilderness, he returned looking like a scarecrow.

Formed from scare + crow. The compound displaced several older regional names for figures used to frighten birds; its figurative use compares a thin or ragged person to such a field figure.

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