straight and narrow
Noun: - The way of proper and honest behavior; the morally correct and virtuous path in life. It refers to a course of action that is upright, lawful, and conforms to strict moral or ethical standards.
The phrase "straight and narrow" is used to describe a life or behavior that is scrupulously honest, lawful, and morally upright. It often implies a conscious effort to avoid temptation, wrongdoing, or deviation from accepted rules. - It is almost always used with the definite article "the" (i.e., the straight and narrow). - Common verbs used with it include: keep to, stay on, follow, guide someone back to.
- After his release from prison, he was determined to stay on the straight and narrow.
- Her parents always encouraged her to follow the straight and narrow.
- The mentor's advice helped keep the young man on the straight and narrow.
- "To guide/lead someone back to the straight and narrow": To help someone return to a morally correct way of living after they have strayed from it.
- The support group aims to lead recovering addicts back to the straight and narrow.
- The straight and narrow path: A slightly more formal or explicit variant of the phrase.
- He found it difficult to walk the straight and narrow path after so many years of trouble.
- The righteous path
- The upright path
- The path of virtue
- The moral high ground
The phrase originates from a misquotation of the Bible (Matthew 7:14), which refers to the "strait" (meaning narrow or constricted) gate and the "narrow" way that leads to life. Over time, "strait" was commonly replaced with "straight," giving the modern idiom "straight and narrow," which combines ideas of moral directness ("straight") and strictness ("narrow").
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the way of proper and honest behavior
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he taught his children to keep strictly to the straight and narrow
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