Is it straight-laced or strait-laced?

The now obsolete adjective strait meant “narrow or cramped” or “strict,” but because it’s become unfamiliar today, strait-laced can also be spelled straight-laced.

What does Straight-Laced mean?

1 : excessively strict in manners, morals, or opinion. 2 : wearing or having a bodice or stays tightly laced. Other Words from straitlaced Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More About straitlaced.

What is the origin of the phrase straight-laced?

This term comes from a women’s clothing item: a bodice. A woman with a strait-laced bodice has the bodice laced tightly. This term finds its first printed sources from the 15th century. One of the first print sources is John Lydgate’s 1430 poem My Fayr Lady.

Is straight laced an insult?

adjective. If you describe someone as strait-laced, you disapprove of them because they have very strict views about what kind of behaviour is moral or acceptable. [disapproval]

What does not transient mean?

adj. 1 for a short time only; temporary or transitory. 2 (Philosophy) a variant of → transeunt.

Why are straits called straits?

A strait is a narrow passage of water that connects two larger bodies of water. Straits are naturally occurring, which means that they are not made by people. You can remember this term because straits let you sail ‘straight’ on through from one body of water to another.

What does the word strait mean in the Bible?

One of the literal meanings of strait was, of a way, passage or channel, so narrow as to make transit difficult.

What kind of word is straight laced?

or straight-laced excessively strict in conduct or morality; puritanical; prudish: strait-laced censors.

What kind of word is straight-laced?

What is connotation of hen?

1a : a female chicken especially over a year old broadly : a female bird. b : the female of various mostly aquatic animals (such as lobsters or fish) 2 : woman especially : a fussy middle-aged woman.

What does ‘strait-laced’ mean?

Checking etymonline.com shows that “strait-laced” dates from the 1550s, and was used to refer to bodices and stays, meaning that the woman’s clothing in question was very tightly bound and allowed little to no freedom of motion: it was laced in a strait fashion (strait = narrow, constricted, tight, limited, or strict).

What is the difference between straight and Strait?

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.”

When did people start using the term straight-laced?

Comparing the two tables, it’s clear that straight-laced was used first (1820-1829), but then strait-laced was the more used term in the years between 1860 and 1879, and between 1900 and 1909. Google Ngram suggests strait [- ]laced came first around 1790 and has always been more popular than straight [- ]laced which showed up from 1810.

What is the original spelling of “Straitjacket”?

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.”