2021-02-05
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด S – straight & strait
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง straight & strait = ‘STREYT’
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree
Straight = having no waves or bends: a straight path to the beach;
= candid and direct: straight talk;
= unmixed: I drink my whiskey straight.
Not to be confused with:
strait = (often straits) a narrow passage of water connecting
two large bodies of water; difficulty; distress:
dire straits
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
strait or straight?
Straight and strait are homophones
(“one of two or more words pronounced alike
but different in meaning or derivation orspelling”),
and many people are in the habit of confusing such creatures,
particularly when used in fixed phrases.
If you express no emotion you have a straight face;
an upright person is a straight shooter;
a straight flush is “a poker hand
containing five cards of the same suit in sequence.”
However, if you find yourself in a difficult situation
you are in dire straits.
Straitjacket and straitlaced are
the more commonly used forms for the restrictive garment
and the “strict in manners” adjective, although straightjacket and straightlaced are also occasionally found.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Choose the Right Synonym for strait
Noun
JUNCTURE, EXIGENCY, EMERGENCY, CONTINGENCY, PINCH, STRAIT
mean a critical or crucial time or stateof affairs.
JUNCTURE stresses the significant concurrence or convergence of events.
an important juncture in our country's history
EXIGENCY stresses the pressure of restrictions or urgency of demands created by a special situation.
provide for exigencies
EMERGENCY applies to a sudden unforeseen situation
requiring prompt action to avoid disaster.
the presence of mind needed to deal with emergencies
CONTINGENCY implies an emergency or exigency that is regarded as possible but uncertain of occurrence.
contingency plans
PINCH implies urgency or pressure for action to a less intense degree than EXIGENCY or EMERGENCY.
come through in a pinch STRAIT,
now commonly STRAITS, applies to a troublesome situation
from which escape is extremely difficult.
in dire straits
CRISIS applies to a juncture whose outcome will make a decisive difference.
a crisis of confidence
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
Dire Straits: Straight vs. Strait (plus Straitjacket and Straitlaced)
If the straightjacket fits, can we still spell it that way?
What to Know
Straight can mean "without bend," "heterosexual," and "fairness,"
while strait means "narrow, strict, or constricted."
This is why "strait" is the original spelling
of "straitjacket" and "straitlaced."
Given that the imagery of a straitjacket and straitlaced person
reflects being upright or followinga narrow path,
they are often conflated as "straightjacket" and "straightlaced."
We know straight to mean "having no curves, bends, or angles,"
"heterosexual," and "exhibiting honesty and fairness,"
among other things.
We likewise know that strait refers to a narrow passage of water
between two land masses, and also "a situation of perplexity or distress," such as the phrase in dire straits ("in a bad or difficult situation"):
Hammer is in dire straits, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The paper states that Hammer's yearlong tour in support of Too Legit to Quit lost money and that the building of Hammer's multi-million-dollar Fremont, California, home is "stalled while Hammer pays contractors."
—Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, Nov. 26, 1992
So why are they so often confused in words
such as straitjacket and straitlaced?
Confusing Strait and Straight
Strait also serves as an adjectivewith now-archaic senses,
including "strict or narrow," "rigorous," and "closely fitting or constricted."
These words originated from
the "closely fitting or constricted" sense of strait,
but they are spelled straightjacket
and straightlaced frequently enough that these spellings
are listed as variants at their respective entries in the dictionary.
One reason for the variant spellings might be due to interpretation.
A person wearing a straitjacket
is essentially forced into a straight position,
and straight carries a connotation of discipline
—not deviating from a path, as opposed to wandering astray
—that could encourage the spellings straightjacket and straightlaced.
Another example of this conflation
turns up in the phrase straight and narrow,
defined as "the way of propriety and rectitude."
The phrase originates from the Bible; specifically, the King James Version, Matthew 7:13-14:
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
The gospel is referring to a small opening into "the way" that is narrow. But the interpretation eventually shifted to straight and narrow, with straight implying a regimen of clean living:
Edgar Robbins drank too much and was a fool about the women, but Ward and Gertrude took him around with them everywhere and confided in each other that they wanted to straighten him out. Then one day Robbins took Ward aside and said that he had syphilis and would have to follow the straight and narrow.
—John Dos Passos, The 42nd Parallel, 1930
Surprisingly, the words are not etymologically related.
Straight ultimately derives from the Old English streccan,
an ancestor of our word stretch.
Strait, meanwhile, derives via Middle English and Anglo-French
from the Latin verb stringere,
meaning "to draw or bind tight."
From stringere we also get the words strict and stringent.
And that's as straight an explanation as we can give you.
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions
straight & strait
Straight as an adjective, means
“uncurved,” “direct,” “unswerving”:
“The road is straight.”
“When you tell a story, try to keep a straight face.”
As an adverb, straight mean “directly” and “honestly”:
“Please go straight home.”
“Don’t lie, speak straight.”
Strait means
(1) “a narrow passage of water”;
(2) “restricted,” “confined”;
(3) “a position of difficulty or distress” (usually in the plural):
“This strait is just wide enough to accommodate the large ship.”
“strait is the gate, and narrow is the way.”
“You must be in desperate straits for companionship.”
