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.
His three-card monte skills are storied in the neighborhood, but he’s determined to proceed down the straight and narrow.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 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
The news sent the Cypriot government scrambling to shore up a tattered reputation, offering assurances that the country was now firmly on the straight and narrow.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 8, 2023
The servants’ steps were the quickest way down—not grand, but steep and straight and narrow, hidden in the walls.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
