Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Jackstraw

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Jackstraw: noun - someone without substance, worth,or consideration; used in plural for a set of straws or other thin strips, in agame where they are thrown in a pile, and each must be picked up withoutdisturbing any other; this game; a jot or whit.
'The MP for the northerncity exposed himself as a jackstraw when, confronted by a call for his supporton a delicate matter, he avoided any involvement by claiming to be sick.'