arrow (redirected from Arrow, Kenneth Joseph)

*straight as an arrow 

1. Cliché [of something] very straight. (*Also: as ~.) The road to my house is as straight as an arrow, so it should be very easy to follow.

2. . Cliché [of someone] honest or forthright. (Straight here means honest. *Also: as ~.) Tom is straight as an arrow. I'd trust him with anything.

See also: straight

*swift as an arrow and *swift as the wind; *swift as thought

very fast. (*Also: as ~.) The new intercity train is swift as an arrow. You won't have to wait for me long; I'll be there, swift as thought.

See also: swift

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a straight arrow  (American)

someone who is very honest and careful to behave in a socially acceptable way Friends describe Menendez as a straight arrow who rarely drank and was close to his family.

See also: straight

the slings and arrows (of outrageous fortune)  (literary)

unpleasant things that happen to you that you cannot prevent

Usage notes: This phrase comes from Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. Slings and arrows are weapons used to attack people, and fortune means things that happen to you.

We all have to suffer the slings and arrows, so there's no point getting depressed when things go wrong.

See also: and, sling

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slings and arrows

unpleasant, negative attacks He was surprised by the slings and arrows directed at him by several economists.

Etymology: from the phrase “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” in Shakespeare's play “Hamlet”

See also: and, sling