go straight

Idioms  

1. Become a law-abiding person; abandon crime. For example, Once he got out on probation, he swore he would go straight. The use of straight in the sense of “honest” dates from the 1500s and probably alludes to the opposite of crooked, used in the sense of “dishonest” from the 13th century on.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

go straight

Washington gives Amman roughly $1.45 billion annually, including around $800 million that go straight to government coffers for budgetary support.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Because they arrive fully trimmed, they can go straight into a low, slow smoke or a gentle braise, where the collagen breaks down into gelatin and the meat becomes tender enough to shred.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

Taken together, the sculptures testify to the nearly impossible challenge of rendering beauty from stone, a lesson lost when the eyes go straight to David and hindsight bias prevails.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

"It is not a taught bat swing. Batters go straight up and straight down - a linear path. This is more circular and wristy."

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

She climbed over the fence and tried to go straight out toward one bunch of flowers.

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen