[straightlaced]{adj.} Of very strict morals and manners. •/She is so straightlaced that she won’t even go out with a man unless she senses that he is serious about her./

[straight off]{adv. phr.} At once; immediately. •/After school is over, you come home straight off, and don’t waste time./ •/He asked his father for the car, but his father said straight off that he couldn’t have it./

[straight out] See: RIGHT OUT.

[straight shooters] See: SHOOT STRAIGHT.

[straight ticket]{n.} A vote for all the candidates of a single party. •/Uncle Fred was a loyal member of his party. He always voted the straight ticket./ Contrast: SPLIT TICKET.

[strain a point] See: STRETCH A POINT.

[strange to say]{adv. phr.} Not what you might think; surprisingly. — Used for emphasis. •/Strange to say, Jerry doesn’t like candy./ •/Strange to say, the Indians didn’t kill Daniel Boone./

[strapped for]{adj.} Broke; out of funds. •/My brother is so extravagant that he is always strapped for cash./

[straw] See: GIVE A HANG, GRASP AT A STRAW, GRASP AT STRAWS, LAST STRAW or STRAW THAT BREAKS THE CAMEL’S BACK, MAKE BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW.

[straw boss]{n.} 1. The boss of a few workers who is himself under another boss or foreman. •/The straw boss told Jim he would have to see the foreman about a job./ 2, A man who works himself and also bosses a few other workers. •/Smith worked better than the other men, so the foreman made him straw boss, too./

[straw in the wind]{n. phr.} A small sign of what may happen. •/The doctor’s worried face was a straw in the wind./ •/The quickly-called meeting of the President and his cabinet was a straw in the wind./

[straw poll]{n. phr.} An informal survey taken in order to get an opinion. •/The results of our straw poll show that most faculty members prefer to teach between 9 and 11 A.M./

[straw that breaks the camel’s back] See: LAST STRAW.

[straw vote] See: STRAW POLL.

[streak] See: WINNING STREAK.

[streak of luck] See: RUN OF LUCK.

[stream] See: CHANGE HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM, SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT or SWIM AGAINST THE STREAM.

[street] See: BACK STREET, CROSS STREET, MAN IN THE STREET, ON EASY STREET, SIDE STREET, STOP STREET, THROUGH STREET.

[strength] See: ON THE STRENGTH OF.

[stretch a point] or [strain a point] {v. phr.} To permit something different or more than usual; not tell the exact truth or make an exception. •/Mother stretched a point because it was Christmas time and let the children stay up later than usual./ •/It’s straining a point to call Joe a hero just because he saved the kitten from drowning in the bathtub./

[stretch of the imagination]{n. phr.} Imaginative attempt or effort. •/By no stretch of the imagination can I see Al as a successful lawyer./

[stride] See: HIT ONE’S STRIDE, TAKE IN STRIDE.

[strike] See: CALLED STRIKE, HAVE TWO STRIKES AGAINST ONE, LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE, TWO STRIKES AGAINST ONE.

[strike a bargain]{v. phr.} To arrive at a price satisfactory to both the buyer and the seller. •/After a great deal of haggling, they managed to strike a bargain./

[strike a happy medium]{v. phr.} To find an answer to a problem that is halfway between two unsatisfactory answers. •/Mary said the dress was blue. Jane said it was green. They finally struck a happy medium and decided it was blue-green./ •/Two teaspoons of sugar made the cup of coffee too sweet, and one not sweet enough. One heaping teaspoon struck a happy medium./

[strike all of a heap] See: ALL OF A HEAP.

[strikebreaker]{n.} One who takes the place of workers on strike or one who recruits such people. •/The striking workers threw rotten eggs at the strikebreakers./

[strike gold]{v. phr.} 1. To find gold. •/Ted struck gold near an abandoned mine in California./ 2. To find suddenly the answer to an old puzzle. •/Professor Brown’s assistant struck gold when he came up with an equation that explained the irregular motions of a double star./ See: PAY DIRT.

[strike home] See: HIT HOME.

[strike it rich]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To discover oil, or a large vein of minerals to be mined, or a buried treasure. •/The old prospector panned gold for years before he struck it rich./ 2. To become rich or successful suddenly or without expecting to. •/Everyone wanted to buy one of the new gadgets, and their inventor struck it rich./ •/John did not know that he had a rich Uncle John in Australia. John struck it rich when his uncle left his money to John./ Compare: PAY DIRT(2).

[strike one funny]{v. phr.} To appear or seem laughable, curious, ironic, or entertaining. •/"It strikes me funny," he said, "that you should refuse my invitation to visit my chateau in France. After all, you love both red wine and old castles. "/

[strike one’s colors] See: HAUL DOWN ONE’S COLORS.

[strike one’s fancy]{v. phr.} To please one’s predilections; appeal to one. •/The red tie with the yellow dragon on it happened to strike my fancy, so I bought it./

[strike] or [hit a sour note] {v. phr.} To spoil the mood at a gathering by hearing some bad news. •/The news of Mr. Brown’s sudden illness struck a sour note during our New Year’s Eve party./ Compare: SPIT INTO THE WEDDING CAKE.

[strike out]{v.} 1. To destroy something that has been written or drawn by drawing a line or cross through it or by erasing it. •/John misspelled "corollary. " He struck it out and wrote it correctly./ 2. To begin to follow a new path or a course of action that you have never tried. •/The boy scouts struck out at daybreak over the mountain pass./ •/John quit his job and struck out on his own as a traveling salesman./ 3. To put (a batter) out of play by making him miss the ball three times; also: To be put out of play by missing the ball three times. •/The pitcher struck out three men in the game./ •/The batter struck out twice./ 4. To push out an arm suddenly in a hitting motion. •/The boxer saw his chance and struck out at his opponent’s jaw./

[strike out at]{v. phr.} To attack someone verbally or physically. •/She was so angry that she struck out at him every occasion she got./

[strike the hour]{v. phr.} To mark or toll the hour (said of clocks or bells). •/We heard the church clock strike the hour of two./

[strike up]{v.} 1a. To start to sing or play. •/We were sitting around the camp fire. Someone struck up a song, and we all joined in./ •/The President took his place on the platform, and the band struck up the national anthem./ 1b. To give a signal to start (a band) playing. •/When the team ran on the field, the band director struck up the band./ 2. To bring about; begin; start. •/The policeman struck up a conversation with John while they were waiting for the bus./ •/It did not take Mary long to strike up acquaintances in her new school./

[strike while the iron is hot] See: MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES.

[string] See: FIRST STRING, LATCH STRING, ON THE STRING or ON A STRING, PULL STRINGS, PURSE STRINGS, SHOE-STRING CATCH, TIED TO ONE’S MOTHER’S APRON STRINGS.

[string along]{v.}, {informal} 1. To deceive; fool; lead on dishonestly. •/Mary was stringing John along for years but she didn’t mean to marry him./ •/George told the new boy that he must always call the teacher "Sir," but the new boy soon saw that George was stringing him along./ Compare: ON A STRING. 2. To follow someone’s leadership; join his group. •/Those of you who want to learn about wild flowers, string along with Jake./