scarecrow

Short definition from Wiktionary

Noun

1. 1
   An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.
2. 2
   A person or animal regarded as resembling a scarecrow (sense 1) in some way; especially, a tall, thin, awkward person; or a person wearing ragged and tattered clothes.
3. 3
   Synonym of crow scarer (“a farmhand employed to scare birds from the fields”).
4. 4
   Anything that appears terrifying but presents no danger; a paper tiger.
5. 5
   Military equipment or tactics used to scare and deter rather than cause actual damage.
6. 6
   The black tern (Chlidonias niger).
7. 7
   The hooded crow (Corvus cornix).

Verb

1. 1
   To cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1).
2. 2
   To cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1): To splay (one's arms) away from the body, like the arms of a scarecrow.
3. 3
   To frighten or terrify (someone or something), as if using a scarecrow.
4. 4
   To spoil the appearance of (something, such as the landscape or a view), as scarecrows may be regarded as doing.