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straight-from-the-shoulder
[ streyt-fruhm-thuh-shohl-der ]
adjective
- direct, honest, and forceful in expression; outspoken.
Idioms and Phrases
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.Example Sentences
It was no good trying some tricky approach; his best bet was the straight-from-the-shoulder bit.
"Very well, sir," said Colin, a little taken aback by this straight-from-the-shoulder statement.
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 Cubans and the officers of the company alike came in for a good deal of straight-from-the-shoulder Yankee criticism.
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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.
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