"as straight as a die"

[Vladimir]

Hi all,

Please, give a synonym for "die" in this context - one of the dice, stamping die, or what else.

In Russian we just say "as straight as a red banner"

[mykwyner]

I have never heard this expression, but it would have to be a stamping die, which always has to be very accurately made.

[BobK]

I've heard it, so I guess (suppose ) it's BE. But I get the impression that it's not much used nowadays.

b

ps - as a further guess (more guesswork in this case) maybe this expression is more current in the industrial north, where 'die' in this sense was probably more meaningful.

[Hamburg]

This comes from the mechanical engineering branch.
A 'die' is a hard metal stamp used to punch holes in or shape metal. Coins are also stamped with a 'die'.
When a 'die' is being used as a stamp it must be perfectly straight or it would bend then break under the tons of pressure in the machine.
When speaking about a person being 'as straight as a die', it means that that person is honest and trustworthy.
This idiom is used widely in Scotland where engineering is still one of the main means of employment, and where many 'dies' are produced for export.

[Vladimir]

Thanks to all

[curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Hamburg

This comes from the mechanical engineering branch.
A 'die' is a hard metal stamp used to punch holes in or shape metal. Coins are also stamped with a 'die'.
When a 'die' is being used as a stamp it must be perfectly straight or it would bend then break under the tons of pressure in the machine.
When speaking about a person being 'as straight as a die', it means that that person is honest and trustworthy.
This idiom is used widely in Scotland where engineering is still one of the main means of employment, and where many 'dies' are produced for export.

Hi, nearly right! There are instruments called taps and dies. The tap is used to create a thread in a hole. The die is used to create a thread on a bolt (which can then be inserted into the hole prepared with the tap)
Stands to reason that it has to be very accurate or 'straight'