See straight arrow in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for straight arrow meaning in English (3.9kB)
{
"etymology_text": "From archery, in which an arrow that has a straight shaft flies where you shoot it, while a crooked arrow will veer off.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "straight arrows",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "straight arrow (plural straight arrows)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "American English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "91 9",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1965 April 2, Paul O'Neil, “Bradley: good man and true”, in LIFE, volume 58, number 13, page 93",
"text": "He was put down at first as a \"straight arrow\" — a do-gooder — and the description was sometimes accompanied by the cry, \"ugh.\" as in old Westerns when the settler is shot by the wily redskin.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1988, Diana McRae, All the Muscle You Need, page 36",
"text": "But he might not be a straight arrow. I'm going to get the dirt on him from someone.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Ruth Jean Dale, Kids, Critters and Cupid",
"text": "My great-grandpa had a reputation as a straight arrow, because he was so honest in all his dealings.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Allen J. Roy, Lemme Tell You a Story: Memoirs of REV. Msgr. Allen J. Roy, page 32",
"text": "If there is any man in our family who was and is a straight arrow, it is Kearn.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2023, Emily George, A Half-Baked Murder, page 231",
"text": "I folded my arms across my chest. \"I'm about to open a weed café! How is that being a straight arrow?\"",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone who behaves according to conventional standards; one noted for honesty and integrity."
],
"id": "en-straight_arrow-en-noun-zDNbXh-K",
"raw_glosses": [
"(US, informal) Someone who behaves according to conventional standards; one noted for honesty and integrity."
],
"tags": [
"US",
"informal"
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1908, Charles Francis Horne, The Technique of the Novel, page 28",
"text": "The goal can not be attained by a straight arrow flight.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1970, United States. Congress. Economic Joint Committee, The Dismissal of A. Ernest Fitzgerald by the Department of Defense, page 197",
"text": "\"It's a straight arrow approach,\" he said.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1995, Gerhard Sonnert, Gerald James Holton, Who Succeeds in Science?: The Gender Dimension, page viii",
"text": "It will be reassuring to many who read this book to learn that success can be achieved by both a straight arrow path and a spiral path.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2005, Larry Lichtenwalter, David--Dancing Like a King, page 140",
"text": "It's best to have both, a balanced bow and a straight arrow.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Chun Liu, Principle and Application Progress in Location-Based Services, page 283",
"text": "A straight arrow on the pavement means the lane is only for traffic moving straight ahead and that a vehicle in the lane should not turn either right or left.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see straight, arrow."
],
"id": "en-straight_arrow-en-noun-0HXGASLt",
"links": [
[
"straight",
"straight#English"
],
[
"arrow",
"arrow#English"
]
],
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "0 100",
"word": "straight as an arrow"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 100",
"word": "straight shooter"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 100",
"word": "straight-arrow"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-straight arrow.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c9/En-au-straight_arrow.ogg/En-au-straight_arrow.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/En-au-straight_arrow.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "straight arrow"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English terms with audio links",
"Translation table header lacks gloss"
],
"etymology_text": "From archery, in which an arrow that has a straight shaft flies where you shoot it, while a crooked arrow will veer off.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "straight arrows",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "straight arrow (plural straight arrows)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "straight as an arrow"
},
{
"word": "straight shooter"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"American English",
"English informal terms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1965 April 2, Paul O'Neil, “Bradley: good man and true”, in LIFE, volume 58, number 13, page 93",
"text": "He was put down at first as a \"straight arrow\" — a do-gooder — and the description was sometimes accompanied by the cry, \"ugh.\" as in old Westerns when the settler is shot by the wily redskin.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1988, Diana McRae, All the Muscle You Need, page 36",
"text": "But he might not be a straight arrow. I'm going to get the dirt on him from someone.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Ruth Jean Dale, Kids, Critters and Cupid",
"text": "My great-grandpa had a reputation as a straight arrow, because he was so honest in all his dealings.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Allen J. Roy, Lemme Tell You a Story: Memoirs of REV. Msgr. Allen J. Roy, page 32",
"text": "If there is any man in our family who was and is a straight arrow, it is Kearn.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2023, Emily George, A Half-Baked Murder, page 231",
"text": "I folded my arms across my chest. \"I'm about to open a weed café! How is that being a straight arrow?\"",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone who behaves according to conventional standards; one noted for honesty and integrity."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(US, informal) Someone who behaves according to conventional standards; one noted for honesty and integrity."
],
"tags": [
"US",
"informal"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1908, Charles Francis Horne, The Technique of the Novel, page 28",
"text": "The goal can not be attained by a straight arrow flight.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1970, United States. Congress. Economic Joint Committee, The Dismissal of A. Ernest Fitzgerald by the Department of Defense, page 197",
"text": "\"It's a straight arrow approach,\" he said.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1995, Gerhard Sonnert, Gerald James Holton, Who Succeeds in Science?: The Gender Dimension, page viii",
"text": "It will be reassuring to many who read this book to learn that success can be achieved by both a straight arrow path and a spiral path.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2005, Larry Lichtenwalter, David--Dancing Like a King, page 140",
"text": "It's best to have both, a balanced bow and a straight arrow.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2014, Chun Liu, Principle and Application Progress in Location-Based Services, page 283",
"text": "A straight arrow on the pavement means the lane is only for traffic moving straight ahead and that a vehicle in the lane should not turn either right or left.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see straight, arrow."
],
"links": [
[
"straight",
"straight#English"
],
[
"arrow",
"arrow#English"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-straight arrow.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c9/En-au-straight_arrow.ogg/En-au-straight_arrow.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/En-au-straight_arrow.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "straight-arrow"
}
],
"word": "straight arrow"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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