Basic Details
Word: Scarecrow
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A figure dressed in old clothes and put in a field to frighten birds away from the crops.
How to Spell Scarecrow
Syllables: scare - crow
Tricky part: Scare keeps its e, and crow ends in ow. It is one word, with no gap and no hyphen.
Watch out for: scarcrow, skarecrow, scarecro, scarecrowe
Memory tip: It does exactly what its name says: it scares crows. Scare + crow, with nothing added and nothing taken away.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The scarecrow in Dadaji's wheat field wears his old blue shirt.
Example 2: Crows soon learnt that the scarecrow could not move and sat on its hat.
Example 3: After the long trek, my hair stuck out like a scarecrow's.
Fun Fact
In L. Frank Baum's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, the Scarecrow joins Dorothy because he hopes the Wizard will give him a brain.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) cornfeild
b) wheelbarow
c) scarecrow
d) grasshoper
Show answer
c) scarecrow. Barrow and hopper each have a double letter, and field is spelt ie; scarecrow is the only clean join.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
scarecraow
a) c
b) o
c) w
d) a
Show answer
d) a. Crow, the bird, is just c-r-o-w, so the a before the o does not belong.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Farmer Ramdas dressed the wcrsrcaeo in his old kurta and a torn turban.
a) caretaker
b) scarecrow
c) crossbow
d) scorecard
Show answer
b) scarecrow. The jumble has two c's, two r's and a w; scorecard needs a d and crossbow a b.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why does a farmer put up a scarecrow?
a) to measure how much rain falls
b) to mark the edge of the field
c) to show which way the wind blows
d) to keep birds away from the crops
Show answer
d) to keep birds away from the crops
2. Someone who looks like a scarecrow is probably ____.
a) thin and dressed in untidy clothes
b) very strong and muscular
c) wearing a police uniform
d) smartly dressed for a wedding
Show answer
a) thin and dressed in untidy clothes
