How did the Straight Dope get its name?

[SDMBKL]

MERRIAM-WEBSTER DEFINITION: Straight

1 free from curves, bends, angles, or irregularities *straight hair* *straight timber* b : generated by a point moving continuously in the same direction and expressed by a linear equation *a straight line* *the straight segment of a curve*
2 a : lying along or holding to a direct or proper course or method *a straight thinker* b : CANDID, FRANK *a straight answer* c : coming directly from a trustworthy source *a straight tip on the horses* d (1) : having the elements in an order *the straight sequence of events* (2) : CONSECUTIVE *12 straight days* e : having the cylinders arranged in a single straight line *a straight 8-cylinder engine* f : PLUMB, VERTICAL *the picture isn't quite straight*
3 a : exhibiting honesty and fairness *straight dealing* b : properly ordered or arranged *set the kitchen straight* *set us straight on that issue*; also : CORRECT *get the facts straight* c : free from extraneous matter : UNMIXED *straight whiskey* d : marked by no exceptions or deviations in support of a principle or party *votes a straight Democratic ticket* e : having a fixed price for each regardless of the number sold f : not deviating from an indicated pattern *writes straight humor* *a straight-A student* g (1) : exhibiting no deviation from what is established or accepted as usual, normal, or proper : CONVENTIONAL; also : SQUARE 5f (2) : not using or under the influence of drugs or alcohol h : HETEROSEXUAL
4 : being the only form of remuneration *on straight commission*

MERRIAM-WEBSTER DEFINITION: Dope

a : a thick liquid or pasty preparation b : a preparation for giving a desired quality to a substance or surface
2 : absorbent or adsorbent material used in various manufacturing processes (as the making of dynamite)
3 a (1) : an illicit, habit-forming, or narcotic drug; especially : MARIJUANA (2) : a preparation given to a racehorse to help or hinder its performance b chiefly Southern : a cola drink c : a stupid person
4 : information especially from a reliable source *the inside dope*

Which definition could the words, "straight" and "dope", possibly mean? :confused: Surely, it can't mean that these forum members are dopers or marijuana abusers! :eek:

[runner pat]

The phrase "Give me the straight dope" means tell me the truth/give me the facts.

[guizot]

It's an idiom. You can't look up the words from an idiom separately and expect them to add up to make sense.

[Captain Amazing]

"The Straight Dope" is a term that basically means "the truth". See your definition 4 for the word "dope" (although for some of us, 3c probably applies too).

[SuperAbe]

It's an idiom. You can't look up the words from an idiom separately and expect them to add up to make sense.

Absolutely. In this case, though, combining the final part of definition 3b ("correct") with the 4th definition for dope ("information especially from a reliable source") gets you much closer than many idioms: "straight dope" == "correct information from a reliable source".

[Mornac]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Cecil was also offering us self-effacing double entendre?

[JSexton]

Straight: 3 a : exhibiting honesty and fairness
Dope: 4 : information especially from a reliable source *the inside dope*

Which definition could the words, "straight" and "dope", possibly mean? :confused:
It's all right there in the definitions you quoted.

[Colibri]

Moved from GQ to ATMB.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

[jjimm]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Cecil was also offering us self-effacing double entendre?It was 1973, so I think there was actually a triple entente involving weed.

[Irishman]

We were gonna call it "The Heterosexual Marijuana Column", but that didn't quite flow off the tongue.

[Kamino Neko]

It was 1973, so I think there was actually a triple entente involving weed.

I'm pretty sure the Triple Entente had very little to do with weed. Good wine, beer, and vodka, certainly, but weed?

[Johanna]

I'm pretty sure the Triple Entente had very little to do with weed. Good wine, beer, and vodka, certainly, but weed?
Good catch! :)

The word dope comes from Dutch doop*, literally meaning 'dip'. The original meaning was sense 1 from the above dictionary definitions: "a thick liquid or pasty preparation; a preparation for giving a desired quality to a substance or surface." E.g. thousand island dip to give a desired quality to crackers or potato crisps; creamy spinach & avocado dip to give a desired quality to toasty ciabatta are examples that come to my culinary mind, or maybe I'm just hungry and need to go have breakfast. I think in crafts and industry the usual meaning of dope is some chemical preparation used to treat construction or manufacturing materials, I'm not sure.

*Pronounced the same as dope; in Dutch the digraph <oo>=the long /o:/ vowel.

[Mornac]

I think in crafts and industry the usual meaning of dope is some chemical preparation used to treat construction or manufacturing materials, I'm not sure.

--Anyone who's done any plumbing knows that "pipe dope" is a paste applied to threads before screwing two pieces of plumbing together. It forms an airtight seal and adds a little adhesion also. (I have no way of knowing whether or not "pipe dope" has some meaning in the drug culture.)

[Una Persson]

Cecil has been asked this very question a few times by folks writing in. Perhaps ironically, it has never been covered in a column.

[dhkendall]

Cecil has been asked this very question a few times by folks writing in. Perhaps ironically, it has never been covered in a column.

I think because Cecil doesn't suffer fools lightly.

[C K Dexter Haven]

The title does mean that we get some questions from people who think we're a site for drug users. Some of my favorites:
How do I make ecstacy?
how long does it take to get weed out of ur syster? and how should i go about doin it
Does LSD burn a whole in your brain?
If poppy seeds can make you fail a drug test, what can make you pass one?
if u took a piss test and it came back positive is there anything u can say u took that made test come back positiveis there any legal drug that will make piss test come back positive that might say u took cocaine
hello r u a dealer i like gettin high. actually am high now erm cool am chattin to dealer.
Where's the safest place for a white male to buy some crack near to the Riverwalk?
The list goes on. I've done cut-and-paste here from actual emails to Cecil.

I've wondered whether "syster" is a typo for "system" or for "sister." Hard to tell.

Anyhow, enjoy the laughs, and happy new year.

[TBG]

Everyone seems to be saying #3 for "Straight" but I prefer 2b

2 b : CANDID, FRANK *a straight answer*

Agree about #4 for "Dope", though.

[elbows]

Wait a minute, I could swear I learned this from one of the books, but I could be misremembering:

I understood that the initial free paper, it appeared in, was a counter culture sort of street paper, at the time. And that, initially, the idea was to inform people about bad street drugs that were around town. But that's not much material for a weekly column, and so they branched out and started taking questions, any questions, outside of that thin topic. And it grew to the column we have today.

If not one of the books, I wonder where I read this?

[jjimm]

I'm pretty sure the Triple Entente had very little to do with weed. Good wine, beer, and vodka, certainly, but weed?a) Nice one. b) I plead Swype.