a. [f. STRAW sb.1 + -LESS.] Made without straw, containing no straw (in allusion to Exodus v; see STRAW sb.1 2 a). Also in fig. context.
1691. Sir T. P. Blount, Ess., v. 96. After this, among the Ægyptians was that of the Strawless Tax.
1859. W. H. Russell, in Times, 24 March, 9/3. Perhaps something like it might have been seen … when the children of Israel were making strawless bricks.
1870. Daily News, 17 May, 5/2. To create a character out of the strawless clay which is so frequently provided by the dramatic author, requires a most trying effort of the imagination.
1896. J. F. McCurdy, in Hilprecht, Recent Res. in Bible Lands, 10–1. The story of the oppression is signally illustrated by the great discovery of the ‘treasure city’ of Pithom with its straw-less bricks.
