Flat vs Straight - What's the difference?

In lang=en terms the difference between flat and straight

is that flat is a note played a semitone lower than a natural, denoted by the symbol ♭ sign placed after the letter representing the note (e.g., B♭) or in front of the note symbol (e.g. ♭♪) while straight is a cigarette, particularly one containing tobacco instead of marijuana. Also straighter.

In obsolete terms the difference between flat and straight

is that flat is a dull fellow; a simpleton while straight is stretched out; fully extended.

As adjectives the difference between flat and straight

is that flat is having no variations in height while straight is not crooked or bent; having a constant direction throughout its length.

As adverbs the difference between flat and straight

is that flat is so as to be flat while straight is of a direction relative to the subject, precisely; as if following a direct line.

As nouns the difference between flat and straight

is that flat is an area of level ground while straight is something that is not crooked or bent.

As verbs the difference between flat and straight

is that flat is to make a flat call; to call without raising while straight is to straighten.

flat

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) flat, from (etyl) Flat] in (Online Etymology Dictionary) flatr (Norwegian and Swedish flat, Danish flad), from (etyl) [http://ordnet.dk/ods/opslag?opslag=flad&submit=S%F8g Sanskrit, OHG and Greek cognates named.

Alternative forms

* , (l) (obsolete)

Adjective

(flatter)

Having no variations in height.

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=17 citation , passage=The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].}}

(of a tire or other inflated object) Deflated, especially because of a puncture.

(music, note) Lowered by one semitone.

(music) Of a note or voice, lower in pitch than it should be.

(music, voice) Without variations in pitch.

Of a carbonated drink, with all or most of its carbon dioxide having come out of solution so that the drink no longer fizzes or contains any bubbles.

Uninteresting.

* Coleridge

A large part of the work is, to me, very flat .

* Shakespeare

How weary, stale, flat , and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world.

(wine) Lacking acidity without being sweet.

Absolute.

(slang) Describing certain features, usually the breasts and/or buttocks, that are extremely small or not visible at all.

(of a battery) Unable to emit power; dead.

(juggling, of a throw) Without spin; spinless.

Lacking liveliness of commercial exchange and dealings; depressed; dull.

The market is flat .

(phonetics, dated, of a consonant) sonant; vocal, as distinguished from a sharp (non-sonant) consonant

(obsolete) Clear; unmistakable; peremptory; absolute; positive; downright.

* Shakespeare

flat burglary as ever was committed

* Marston

A great tobacco taker too, — that's flat .

Synonyms

* (having no variations in altitude) even, planar, plane, smooth, uniform * (deflated) deflated, punctured * (without variations in pitch) monotone * (uninteresting) boring, dull, uninteresting * flabby

Antonyms

* (having no variations in altitude) bumpy, cratered, hilly (of terrain), rough (of a surface), wrinkled (of a surface) * sharp * sharp

Derived terms

* flat as a pancake * flatcar * flat-footed * flatly * flatness * flat out * flat rate * flatten * that's flat

Adverb

(en adverb)

So as to be flat.

Spread the tablecloth flat over the table.

Bluntly.

I asked him if he wanted to marry me and he turned me down flat .

Not exceeding.

He can run a mile in four minutes flat .

Completely.

I am flat broke this month.

Directly; flatly.

* Herbert

Sin is flat opposite to the Almighty.

(finance, slang) Without allowance for accrued interest.

Synonyms

* (so as to be flat) * (bluntly) bluntly, curtly * (not exceeding) tops * (completely) absolutely, completely, utterly

Noun

(en noun)

An area of level ground.

* Francis Bacon

Envy is as the sunbeams that beat hotter upon a bank, or steep rising ground, than upon a flat .

* , chapter=3

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats . I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.}}

(music) A note played a semitone lower than a natural, denoted by the symbol sign placed after the letter representing the note (e.g.'', B?) or in front of the note symbol (''e.g. ??).

(informal, automotive) A flat tyre/tire.

* 2012 , July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track

The next one surrendered his bike, only for that, too, to give him a second flat as he started the descent.

(in the plural) A type of ladies' shoes with very low heels.

(painting) A thin, broad brush used in oil and watercolor/watercolour painting.

The part of something:

# (swordfighting) The side of a blade, as opposed to the sharp edge.

# The palm of the hand, with the adjacent part of the fingers.

A wide, shallow container.

(geometry) A subset of n-dimensional space that is congruent to a Euclidean space of lower dimension.

A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught.

A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned.

(US) A railroad car without a roof, and whose body is a platform without sides; a platform car or flatcar.

A platform on a wheel, upon which emblematic designs etc. are carried in processions.

(mining) A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.

(Raymond)

(obsolete) A dull fellow; a simpleton.

* Holmes

Or if you cannnot make a speech, / Because you are a flat .

(technical theatre) A rectangular wooden structure covered with masonite, lauan or muslin that can be raised as a platform.

Antonyms

* (note) sharp * (shoes) high heels

Derived terms

* mudflat

Verb

(poker slang) To make a flat call; to call without .

To become flat or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface.

(intransitive, music, colloquial) To fall from the pitch.

(music) To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.

(dated) To make flat; to flatten; to level.

(dated) To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.

* Barrow

Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted .

Etymology 2

From 1795, alteration of (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)

(archaic, New England, now chiefly British) An apartment.

Synonyms

* (apartment) apartment

Derived terms

* block of flats * flatlet * flatmate * flatter

References

Anagrams

* 1000 English basic words ----

straight

English

Alternative forms

* streight (obsolete)

Adjective

(er)

Not crooked or bent; having a constant direction throughout its length.

*1811 , (Jane Austen), (Sense and Sensibility) :

*:I do not like crooked, twisted, blasted trees. I admire them much more if they are tall, straight and flourishing.

*:“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are'' pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling ''à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.”

*2011 , Adharanand Finn, (The Guardian) , 22 March:

*:The other people, I presume, are supposed to be standing to attention, but they're all smiling at me. The lines are not even straight .

#Of a path, trajectory, etc. : direct, undeviating.

#*1913 , , The Kentuckians , p.185:

#*:Now, as the world knows, the straightest' way to the heart of the honest voter is through the women of the land, and the ' straightest way to the heart of the women is through the children of the land; and one method of winning both, with rural politicians, is to kiss the babies wide and far.

#*2000 , Allan Wood, Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox , p.293:

#*:He had no time to set himself, but his throw was straight and true. Pick slid in, spikes high, and Schang tagged him in the ribs a foot or two from the plate.

#*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)

, title=Travels and travails citation

#Perfectly horizontal or vertical; not diagonal or oblique.

#*2004 , Chris Weston, 500 Digital Photography Hints, Tips, and Techniques :

#*:There's nothing more annoying than taking a great picture, only to find that the horizon isn't straight .

#(lb) Stretched out; fully extended.

Strait; narrow.

*Sir (John Mandeville) (c.1350)

*:Egypt is a long country, but it is straight , that is to say, narrow.

(lb) Figurative uses.

#Free from dishonesty; honest, law-abiding.

#*1879 , (Anthony Trollope), John Caldigate :

#*:‘It wasn't the proper thing, squoire. It wasn't straight .’

#Direct in communication; unevasive, straightforward.

#*2003 , Rosie Cowan, (The Guardian) , 24 April:

#*:Tony Blair issued a direct challenge to the IRA yesterday when he demanded they give straight answers to three simple questions.

#In a row, in unbroken sequence.

#*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 24, author=David Ornstein, work=BBC Sport

, title= Arsenal 3-0 Bolton , passage=It moves them from 17th to 12th on seven points, while Bolton are now bottom of the table with five straight defeats.}}

#*2008 , "Bad vibrations", (The Economist) , 30 October:

#*:As of October 29th, three-month dollar Libor (the rate at which banks borrow from each other) had fallen for 13 straight days and was nearly one-and-a-half percentage points below its October 10th level.

#In proper order; as it should be.

#*2007 , Grant Allen, What's Bred in the Bone , p.140:

#*:Oh, music, how he loved it; it seemed to set everything straight all at once in his head.

#*2010 , Paul Gallagher, (The Observer) , 15 August:

#*:"If you wonder why folks can't take the news seriously, here's Exhibit A," said one blogger. "Lord Jesus, how can the reporter file this story with a straight face?"

#Of spirits: undiluted, unmixed; neat.

#*2003 , Ron Jordan, Considerations :

#*:Real cowboys know how to rope, ride a horse and drink whisky straight .

#*2003 , Lowell Edmunds, Martini, Straight Up , p.94:

#*:The Martini is still in belief'', if not in fact, the centerpiece of a rite, and people who would not drink straight''' gin on the rocks will drink ' straight gin on the rocks if it is called a Martini.

#(lb) Describing the bat as held so as not to incline to either side; on, or near a line running between the two wickets.

#*2011 , Alan Gardner & Barney Ronay, (The Guardian) , 15 March:

#*:Steyn continues and it's all a bit more orderly down his end as O'Brien defends the first three balls with a straight bat and a respectful dip of the head.

#(lb) Describing the sets in a match of which the winner did not lose a single set.

#*2011 , Press Association, 10 February:

#*:Murray started well against Marcos Baghdatis before slumping to defeat in straight sets and the British No1 admitted he may not have been mentally prepared for the rigours of the ATP Tour after a gruelling start to 2011.

# Making no exceptions or deviations in one's support of the organization and candidates of a political party.

# Containing the names of all the regularly nominated candidates of a party and no others.

(lb) Colloquial uses.

#(lb) Conventional, socially acceptable.

#*1994 , (Jarvis Cocker), ‘Do You Remember the First Time?’:

#*:You say you've got to go home. Well at least there's someone there that you can talk to. And you never have to face up to the night on your own. Jesus, it must be great to be straight .

#*(Wavy Gravy):

#*:‘Sure, I could have done it differentput my clown in a closet and dressed up in straight clothing. I could have compromised my essence, and swallowed my soul.’

#*1989 , (Gus Van Sant), (Drugstore Cowboy) :

#*:‘For all the boredom the straight life brings, it's not too bad.’

#*1998 , Eileen Fitzpatrick & Dominic Pride, , 17 October 1998:

#*:‘Her last album was a bit too straight ,’ he says, ‘but this one puts her in a more contemporary framework and softens her music.’

#(lb) Not using alcohol, drugs, etc.

#*2001 , Ruella Frank, Body of Evidence , p.28:

#*:‘Alex's dad used a lot of drugs. He's been straight for years now, but it took a long time for him to be able to deal with his feelings.’

#(lb) Heterosexual.

#*2007 , Layla Kumari, (The Guardian) , 17 September:

#*:Some of my friends – gay and straight – seem unable to understand the close but platonic nature of my and Gian's relationship, but have been supportive.

#*2011 , Jodi Picoult, Sing You Home , p.273:

#*:Angela smiles. ‘I'm straight , Zoe, and I'm happily married.’

Antonyms

* bent * crooked * curved

Usage notes

* Straight is sometimes humorously used as meaning low quality by homosexuals and bisexuals, rather than gay.

Derived terms

* damn straight * go straight * scare straight * straight A * straight-acting * straight and narrow * straight arm / straight-arm * straight as an arrow * straightaway * straight bat * straight dinkum * straightedge / straight edge * straighten * straight face * straight-faced * straight flush * straightforward / straight-forward * straight from the horse's mouth * straight from the shoulder * straight hit * straightjacket * straight line * straightly * straight man * straightness * * straight out of the chute * straight shooter * straight ticket * straight up * straightway

Adverb

(en adverb)

Of a direction relative to the subject, precisely; as if following a direct line.

The door will be straight ahead of you.

Go straight back.

Directly; without pause, delay or detour.

On arriving at work, he went straight to his office.

* Addison

I know thy generous temper well; / Fling but the appearance of dishonour on it, / It straight takes fire, and mounts into a blaze.

Continuously; without interruption or pause.

He claims he can hold his breath for three minutes straight .

Noun

(en noun)

Something that is not crooked or bent.

# A part of a racecourse, running track or other road, etc. , that is not curved.

Colloquial uses.

# A heterosexual.

My friends call straights "heteros".

# (slang) A normal person; someone in mainstream society.

#* ## (poker) Five cards in sequence.

# (slang) A cigarette, particularly one containing tobacco instead of marijuana. Also .

#* [1923 , J[oseph] Manchon, Le slang : lexique de l'anglais familier et vulgaire : précédé d'une étude sur la pronunciation et la grammaire populaires , p. 296:

A straight = a straighter = a straight cut, une cigarette en tabac de Virginie.]

Synonyms

* (heterosexual) hetero, breeder * (normal person) see

Verb

(en verb)

To straighten.

English terms with homophones ----