straw man

so i hear the term "straw man" alot. everywhere it seems. especially on my chinese herb mail list.. among other places. and i notice that it's a colorful term... so i think i should look it up. so long ago, i looked it up. it means an argument made for the sake of refuting. or a front-man for an illicit or shadey business.. a detractor.. like that word i learned a bit ago.. i can't remember what that word was. anyway. the way i usually hear straw man used is to mean 'mock-up' or prototype. so it confuses me... which i only occasionally enjoy. the part that sucks is, you can't tell a bunch of people they're using a word wrong when they all understand what each other are saying.. and you're the only one who doesn't get it. it makes you sound like an ass, and makes them feel like asses, generally. which sucks. so i will just not speak up. because what's the point. but some-day i'll use straw man to mean the thing it actually means. and no one will understand what i mean. they'll think i mean prototype when i am talking about the argument they made that was a red herring...

or is it a red herring? i think it is. yes.