John Dos Passos, The 42nd Parallel, 1930 Then one day Robbins took Ward aside and said that he had syphilis and would have to follow the straight and narrow. But the interpretation eventually shifted to straight and narrow, with straight implying a regimen of clean living:Įdgar Robbins drank too much and was a fool about the women, but Ward and Gertrude took him around with them everywhere and confided in each other that they wanted to straighten him out. The gospel is referring to a small opening into "the way" that is narrow. A person wearing a straitjacket is essentially forced into a straight position, and straight carries a connotation of discipline-not deviating from a path, as opposed to wandering astray-that could encourage the spellings straightjacket and straightlaced.Īnother example of this conflation turns up in the phrase straight and narrow, defined as "the way of propriety and rectitude." The phrase originates from the Bible specifically, the King James Version, Matthew 7:13-14:Įnter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:īecause strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. One reason for the variant spellings might be due to interpretation. Strait also serves as an adjective with now-archaic senses, including "strict or narrow," "rigorous," and "closely fitting or constricted." These words originated from the "closely fitting or constricted" sense of strait, but they are spelled straightjacket and straightlaced frequently enough that these spellings are listed as variants at their respective entries in the dictionary. Wait, is it 'strait and narrow' or 'straight and narrow'? Confusing Strait and Straight So why are they so often confused in words such as straitjacket and straitlaced? The paper states that Hammer's yearlong tour in support of Too Legit to Quit lost money and that theīuilding of Hammer's multi-million-dollarįremont, California, home is "stalled while Hammer is in dire straits, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. ![]() We likewise know that strait refers to a narrow passage of water between two land masses, and also "a situation of perplexity or distress," such as the phrase in dire straits ("in a bad or difficult situation"): ![]() We know straight to mean "having no curves, bends, or angles," "heterosexual," and "exhibiting honesty and fairness," among other things. Straight can mean "without bend," "heterosexual," and "fairness," while strait means "narrow, strict, or constricted." This is why "strait" is the original spelling of "straitjacket" and "straitlaced." Given that the imagery of a straitjacket and straitlaced person reflects being upright or following a narrow path, they are often conflated as "straightjacket" and "straightlaced."
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