strait.html - n. & adj.
--n.

1 (in sing. or pl.) a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or large bodies of water.
2 (usu. in pl.) difficulty, trouble, or distress (usu. in dire or desperate straits).

--adj.

archaic 1 narrow, limited; confined or confining.
2 strict or rigorous.

strait-laced severely virtuous; morally scrupulous; puritanical.

straitly adv. straitness n. [ME streit f. OF estreit tight, narrow f. L strictus STRICT]

strait.html - n. & v.
--n.

1 a strong garment with long arms for confining the arms of a violent prisoner, mental patient, etc.
2 restrictive measures.

--v.

tr. (-jacketed, -jacketing)
1 restrain with a strait-jacket.
2 severely restrict.

strait.html - v.
1 tr. restrict in range or scope.
2 tr. (as straitened adj.) of or marked by poverty.
3 tr. & intr. archaic make or become narrow.

strait.html - See: GO STRAIGHT, SHOOT STRAIGHT.

strait.html - {n.} A face that is not laughing or smiling. * /Mary told all the funny stories she knew to try to make Joan laugh, but Joan kept a straight face./ * /It is hard to tell when Jim is teasing you. He can tell a fib with a straight face./ * /When Bob fell into the water, he looked funny and I could hardly keep a straight face./

strait.html - {slang} Directly from the person or place where it began; from a reliable source or a person that cannot be doubted. * /They are going to be married. I got the news straight from the horse's mouth - their minister./ * /John found out about the painting straight from the horse's mouth, from the painter himself./