straight-laced
Having narrow views on moral mattersHaving narrow views on moral matters; prudish.
Meaning
1 sensesHaving narrow views on moral matters; prudish.
sittenstreng, züchtig, puritanisch
- exaggeratedly proper
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
Widely agreed to have originated (centuries ago) in homophonic confusion (in speech) of stWidely agreed to have originated (centuries ago) in homophonic confusion (in speech) of strait-laced (“tight-laced”), but long since so widely accepted and used, because having such strongly apparent analogy with straight in its senses relating to orthodoxy and conformity (compare squareness), that it can no longer accurately be called erroneous; instead it is an established alternative form with its own reanalyzed surface analysis. Compare straitjacket with *straightjacket; the latter is still usually regarded as an error, but the relationship is analogous.
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Forms
more straight-laced/straighter-laced, most straight-laced/straightest-laced| Comparative | more straight-laced / straighter-laced Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most straight-laced / straightest-laced Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
12 synonyms- exaggeratedly proper:priggishprimprissyprudishpuritanicalsquare-toedstraitlacedstrait-laced
Lessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form