straight arrow
An honest, ethical person who makes good decisions. Kristen was often mocked by her peers for being a straight arrow who always followed the rules and stayed out of trouble.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
a straight arrow
mainly AMERICANIf you describe someone as a straight arrow, you mean that they are very conventional, honest, and moral. I was very much a product of my environment. I was very traditional, a real straight arrow in lots of ways. Several friends describe Mr. Menendez as `a straight arrow' who rarely drank and was close to his family. Note: You can use straight-arrow before a noun. It was impossible to imagine such a well-scrubbed, straight-arrow group of young people rioting over anything.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
a straight arrow
an honest or genuine person. North AmericanFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
straight arrow
n. an honest person; a law-abiding citizen. (see also
straight shooter.)
Willy is really a straight arrow at heart—as long as he’s not around Max. Max is not a straight arrow. Slime is more like it. McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
straight arrow
A conventional and ethical person. As morally straight as an arrow, that person is likely to be dull. As used in colleges during the mid- 20th century, a straight arrow wasn't the type who'd get drunk or use drugs. If female, her necking, petting, or going further was out of the question.
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price