-v. 2. secure, fasten, tether, lash, leash; bind, tie, truss, pinion, moor; bandage, band.
3. sharpen, strop, edge, whet.
4. beat, flog, whip, lash, scourge, flagellate; flail, lace, thrash, belt, horsewhip. strapping, adj. 1. muscular, brawny, broad-shouldered, powerfully-built, musclebound; stalwart, rugged, hefty, husky, solid, well-knit; ablebodied, able, athletic, sinewy.
2. robust, vigorous, full of vigor, hearty, hardy, hale, hale and hearty, lusty, strong and healthy, bursting with health or vigor; sound, healthy, in good health, in good condition, Inf. in good shape, fit, physically fit, in fine fettle; stout, staunch, firm, sturdy, burly, Scot. and North Eng. stiff, tough, iron, Inf. tough as nails, Inf. hard as rock; powerful, potent, mighty, all-powerful, herculean, Literary, puissant.
3. Informal, huge, gigantic, large, whopping, big, titanic, massive, tremendous. stratagem, n. scheme, plot, artifice, wile, subterfuge, trick, trickery, ruse; maneuver, machination, gambit, ploy; device, tactic, trap, snare, deception, feint, intrigue, conspiracy, cabal. strategic, adj. 1. tactical, calculated, plotted, laid out, planned ahead, well-thought-out, outlined, arranged, devised; skillful, adroit, clever, smart, shrewd, sharp; wise, prudent, politic; wily, cunning, sly.
2. important, significant, momentous, essential; pivotal, crucial, decisive, key, vital; fundamental, integral, basic. strategy, n. 1. generalship, military science, martial art, tactics, logistics.
2. plan, Inf. game plan, master plan, Inf. scenario, outline, diagram, schema, blueprint; program, schedule, organization, management; scheme, plot, design, arrangement, method; policy, game, intent, approach, stratum, n. 1. layer, bed, tier, stage, table; lamina, plate, sheet, coat, streak, plane; seam, vein, lode.
2. level, degree, grade, gradation; status, standing, station, class. straw, n. 1. stalk, Bot. petiole, spear, blade, spire, shoot, stem, reed, fiber, sprig.
2. hay, fodder; silage, ensilage; chaff.
3. trifle, least bit, pin, fig, bean, hill of beans; tinker's dam, damn, Inf. darn; hoot, hoot in hell; continental, sou, cent, two cents, red cent, farthing, brass farthing; SI. diddly-poo, SI. poop; speck, flyspeck, iota, jot, tittle. stray, v. 1. wander, roam, meander, straggle, ramble, rove; range, nomadize, drift, live like a gypsy; stroll, amble, Inf. mosey, saunter, prowl; peregrinate, travel about, traverse.
2. deviate, go off course, swerve, veer, sheer, go astray; err, sin, transgress, go down the garden path or primrose path, take the path of least resistance.
3. digress, divagate, go off on a tangent, get off the subject or track, forget oneself, forget what one is talking about, get lost, lose oneself. -n. 4. homeless or friendless animal, homeless or friendless person, waif, Brit, wastrel, foundling, orphan; poor little lamb, little black sheep, Southwestern U.S. maverick, Western U.S. dogie, range horse; cowboy, lonesome cowboy; migrant worker, Inf. Okie; nomad, Kuchi, Bedouin, gypsy, vagabond, hobo, knight of the road, tramp; ski bum, beachcomber, bird of passage.