straight and narrow
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of straight and narrow
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"So they're trying to change people's behaviour, try to get them on the straight and narrow and maybe get them back into work and just become a somewhat normal citizen."
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
He’s such a good guy, and we’re both on the straight and narrow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
Houlahan and Curtis decided to focus on oncogenes, normal genes that, when mutated, can free a cell from regulatory pathways meant to keep it on the straight and narrow.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2024
The entry point to superhero and anti-hero movies and TV shows is straight and narrow, in the most literal sense.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2024
In the days and weeks that followed Willie’s shooting, Whitiker made perhaps the most painful decision a mother could make in order to keep her family on the straight and narrow.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
