Some folks are straight-laced, others are...?

Curvy-laced? Crooked-laced?

What is the origin of this phrase and is there an alternative state of being?

It’s usually strait-laced, not straight-. It originally means “laced up tightly”, as in a corset or bodice.

Good example of steight laced! :slight_smile: I guess that makes me straight zippered? ZIP IT!

PC

Though they are homophones in English, “straight” and strait" have different origins and meanings.

Bibliophage is right: “strait-laced” as in “straitjacket”.
“Straight” = origins Middle English “streght”, of “strechen”, to stretch;
“strait”= Middle English “streit”, from Old French and Latin “strictus” [Strict]
The OP now has me wondering about alternative states of being. I think a glass of a glass of Pinot noir would help me with this thought process. :slight_smile:

Both Bibi and Mood are perfectly correct. So we have two strait-layced responses, but no loose-leyst actual answers to the OP, though, I guess Biliophage’s response does imply an answer. :wink:

PC

Loosy-goosy?
Free and easy?
[sub]kinky?[/sub]

Straight-laced is the opposite of** loosely wrapped**

From Merriam-Webster’s page at ** http://m-w.com **

One entry found for straitlaced.
Main Entry: strait·laced
Variant(s): or straight·laced /'strAt-'lAst/
Function: adjective
Date: 1554
1 : excessively strict in manners, morals, or opinion
2 : wearing or having a bodice or stays tightly laced

  • strait·laced·ly /-'lA-s&d-lE, -'lAst-lE/ adverb
  • strait·laced·ness /-'lAs(t)-n&s, -'lA-s&d-n&s/ noun

One entry found for straiten.
Main Entry: strait·en
Pronunciation: 'strA-t&n
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): strait·ened; strait·en·ing /'strAt-ni[ng], 'strA-t&n-i[ng]/
Date: circa 1552
1 a : to make strait or narrow b : to hem in : CONFINE
2 archaic : to restrict in freedom or scope : HAMPER
3 : to subject to distress, privation, or deficiency <in straitened circumstances>

And, of course, nothing makes a straitjacket linear (or straight).

Just an aide-de-memoire.

blousy?

From http://m-w.com

[sub]I hope y’all appreciate the effort I went to to make it look like the original[/sub]

Loose - laced, of course.

Slip-ons, or scuffs.

…not.