Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Straw vote/poll

This Wednesday is officially "the morning after"—after the U.S. mid-term elections, that is. And whether you are hooting and hollering or sobbing and wailing (or perhaps just quietly celebrating or fuming), you have probably had enough of politicking and pollsters for a while. However, I beg you to bear with me, as I delve into the origin of straw vote (or straw poll).

I wondered when this term originated and what straw had to do with it. 

Well, after a little digging around, I now know—and you will too, if you just keeeeep reading....

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The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer has this to say:

straw vote —Also, straw poll: An unofficial vote or poll indicating how people feel about a candidate or issue.* ... This idiom alludes to a straw used to show in what direction the wind blows,** in this case the wind of public opinion.

 As to when this phrase appeared, the dictionary offers a date of circa 1885, with this lovely example from a 1907 O. Henry short story, A Ruler of Men (you can read the story for free here):

A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows.

As an interesting addendum, the phrase straw in the wind (which is defined as "A slight hint of the future") comes from the same general idea of a straw showing the wind direction. The example given for this phrase: 

The public unrest is a straw in the wind indicating future problems for the regime.

I checked the print date of my copy: 1997. Hmmmm. A little prescient, perhaps?

Next week, no politics; I shall turn an eye upon dingbats....

Hay! Which way is the wind blowing up there? ;-) 
(Haying near New Rochelle by John Henry Dolph [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

* I knew that.
** I didn't know that.