put on straight and narrow

[GUEST2008]

Hi

We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age ...

What does "get put on the straight and narrow" mean? ;-)

 

[SoothingDave]

Straight and narrow is the path to salvation (or to any desired goal). You must be mindful to avoid straying from the path.

 

[BobK]

Straight and narrow is the path to salvation (or to any desired goal). You must be mindful to avoid straying from the path.

:up:

Bunyan started it: The Pilgrim's Progress - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The story is confused by the archaic word 'strait' - which means 'narrow'. This word persists in the biblical (?) quote 'strait is the gate' (the one that gives onto the straight and narrow path - immortalized by André Gide in La Porte Etroite), and in the expression 'dire straits' (originally a narrow sea passage between two dangerous rocks, but now just any difficult or dangerous situation. As long as the -GH- was pronounced - some kind of fricative, either [x] or [Χ] (I'm not saying it's not known which, just that I don't know) - 'strait' and 'straight' could get along quite happily together. But once the fricative was dropped, one of the two had to go. ;-)

b

 

[GUEST2008]

Hi

But "We get put ..." means that we are made/told to do so?
To me it means: We are made to live decently and told to be responsible.

 

[susiedq]

I have never heard of 'we get put" with this idiom to describe being corrected or steered towards a better path in life.

Try;

We were put on the straight and narrow . . .

He put us on the . . . .

 

[GUEST2008]

I understand. Thanks.