straight-from-the-shoulder

[ streyt-fruhm-thuh-shohl-der ]
See synonyms for straight-from-the-shoulder on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. direct, honest, and forceful in expression; outspoken.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use straight-from-the-shoulder in a sentence

  • It was no good trying some tricky approach; his best bet was the straight-from-the-shoulder bit.

    Greylorn | John Keith Laumer
  • "Very well, sir," said Colin, a little taken aback by this straight-from-the-shoulder statement.

    The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries | Francis Rolt-Wheeler
  • They were straight-from-the-shoulder remarks, or, as he called them, they were “brass tacks.”

  • It was all straight-from-the-shoulder kind of talk, garbed in homely phrase.

    The Johnstown Horror | James Herbert Walker
  • The Cubans and the officers of the company alike came in for a good deal of straight-from-the-shoulder Yankee criticism.

    Pioneering in Cuba | James Meade Adams

Other Idioms and Phrases with straight-from-the-shoulder

straight-from-the-shoulder

In a direct, forthright manner, as in I'll tell you, straight from the shoulder, that you'll have to do better or they'll fire you. This expression comes from boxing, where it describes a blow delivered with full force. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.