Wednesday, 6 July 2011

‘Straight arrow’ / ‘Straight Shooter’

When you refer to someone as being a straight arrow what you mean is that he is an honest person or someone who follows all the laws.
Examples: “If you want to run a business, you can’t be a straight arrow.” * “Your friend Raja is not a straight arrow. I just don’t trust him.” * Most political parties avoid straight arrows.

The expression `straight shooter’ has the same meaning as `straight arrow’. Both are normally used in informal contexts.
Examples: ” We need to elect a straight shooter to office this time. This person needs to help us and not himself.” *  Straight shooters don’t make good politicians.
Source: The Hindu ‘Know Your English’ Series, January 16, 2006

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