straw man
/ˈstrɔː ˌmæn/
misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack
straw man in a sentence
“He built a straw man version of her position, then demolished it.”
Origin of straw man
English straw from Old English streaw + man, referring to a dummy or effigy made of straw used for practice fighting
Related Words
sunk cost fallacy
continuing something because of previously invested resources
tu quoque
deflecting criticism by pointing to the critic's similar behavior
whataboutism
responding to criticism by pointing to others' faults
appeal to tradition
arguing that something is valid because it has always been done that way
appeal to ignorance
arguing that a conclusion must be true because it has not been proven false
ad hominem
attacking the person making the argument rather than the argument itself