Straight vs. Strait How to Choose the Right Word

The words straight and strait  are  homophones: They sound alike but have different meanings. As an adjective, straight has several meanings, including level, upright, not bent, extending in the same direction, accurate, and honest. As an adverb, straight means directly or in a straight line. The noun strait usually refers to a narrow waterway. The plural form, straits, means difficulty or distress. The confusion between strait and straight is about five centuries old, notes William Safire in Coming to Terms. Strait is from the Latin stringere, to bind; straight is from the Middle English strecchen, to stretch. How to Use Straight In the most-often-used sense, straight means extending in the same direction without curving when used as an adjective, and it means directly when used as an adverb. A sentence with straight as an adjective is, The line he drew was perfectly straight or He drew a straight line. When used as an adverb, a part of speech that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, a sentence using straight might read: He ran straight to her room. In this example, straight modifies the verb ran. How to Use Strait Strait  is almost always a noun. It means  a narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water. A classic example of the use of the word strait would be the Strait of Gibraltar. This strait, situated between Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain, connects two bodies of water, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Examples The most common use of the word straight is describing something that is not crooked, or its opposite, as in Bens nose wasnt quite straight, and there was also something a little lopsided about his mouth. Other examples use the term meaning directly, as in: After the test, he went straight home.Dont turn left or right; just drive straight down the road until you get to the coffee shop. Strait, by contrast, is most often used to describe a channel connecting two bodies of water. For this use, you might say: Taking a steam launch, we crossed the strait at an early hour to catch the express train to our destination. Strait can also refer to being in a dire predicament, as in: I could never ask a relative for money unless I were in hopeless straits. How to Remember the Difference Remember that strait means narrow, confined, or constrained. And the word strait has fewer letters than straight, so it is more confined. Straight, by contrast, has a wider meaning; that is, it can mean many more things than strait. So, straight needs more letters than strait to contain all those meanings. Idiom Alerts There are several idiomatic uses for straight and strait to keep in mind: Keeping a straight face: The expression to keep a straight face means to maintain a blank or serious expression, especially when trying not to laugh, as in: He tried to keep a straight face, but he couldnt help laughing at the comedians jokes. Straight talk: The expression straight talk refers to speech that is plain, direct, and honest. For example, you might say, Tell me the truth; be straight with me. Setting the record straight: The expression set the record straight means to correct a misunderstanding or offer an accurate version of events that have been incorrectly reported. An example would be, He called on the newspaper to run a correction to set the record straight after it ran the error-plagued article. Straitlaced vs. straightlaced:  Straightlaced is a variant of straitlaced, which can be used to describe someone who is strict or severe in behavior or moral views or to express the notion of confinement, as in a corset. Straitjacket vs. Straightjacket Use straitjacket when you are referring to a cover or overgarment made of strong material (such as canvas) used to bind the body, particularly the arms, in restraining a violent prisoner or patient, or just to mean something that restricts or confines like a straitjacket. Merriam-Webster does give straightjacket as an alternative spelling, but it is not the preferred spelling. Use straitjacket instead. You can remember the term by recalling that a straitjacket confines or restrains; thus the word is narrower and contains fewer letters than straightjacket. The term also has a couple of variants, such as straitjacketed, generally meaning someone who is confined or restricted in some way, and straitjacketing, a verb referring to the process of confining or restricting someone. Sources â€Å"Straight vs. Strait: A Dire Situation.†Ã‚  Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster.â€Å"Strait vs. Straight.†Ã‚  Grammarist.â€Å"Strait vs. Straight: Whats the Difference?†Ã‚  Writing Explained, 27 June 2018.â€Å"Straitjacket.†Ã‚  Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster.Straightlaced. Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster.