What is the difference between straight and square?
straight | square | Synonyms |
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 #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= #*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.’
#*
#*
Of a direction relative to the subject, precisely; as if following a direct line.
Directly; without pause, delay or detour.
* Addison
Continuously; without interruption or pause.
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.
# (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:
(geometry) A polygon with four sides of equal length and four angles of 90 degrees; a regular quadrilateral whose angles are all 90 degrees.
* (rfdate)
An L- or T-shaped tool used to place objects or draw lines at right angles.
An open space in a town, not necessarily square in shape, often containing trees, seating and other features pleasing to the eye.
* Addison
* (rfdate)
A cell in a grid.
(mathematics) The second power of a number, value, term or expression.
(military) A body of troops drawn up in a square formation.
* Shakespeare
* 1990 , (Peter Hopkirk), The Great Game , Folio Society 2010, p. 144:
(slang) A socially conventional person; typically associated with the 1950s
*
(British) The symbol # on a telephone; hash.
(cricket) The central area of a cricket field, with one ore more pitches of which only one is used at a time.
(real estate jargon) A unit of measurement of area, equal to a 10 foot by 10 foot square, ie. 100 square feet or roughly 9.3 square metres. Used in real estate for the size of a house or its rooms, though progressively being replaced by square metres in metric countries such as Australia.
(roofing) A unit used in measuring roof area equivalent to 100 square feet (9.29 m2) of roof area.
(North America) A dessert cut into rectangular pieces, or a piece of such a dessert.
(academia) A mortarboard
(colloquial, US) A square meal.
A pane of glass.
(printing) A certain number of lines, forming a portion of a column, nearly square; used chiefly in reckoning the prices of advertisements in newspapers.
(archaic) Exact proportion; justness of workmanship and conduct; regularity; rule.
* Hooker
* Shakespeare
The relation of harmony, or exact agreement; equality; level.
* Dryden
(astrology) The position of planets distant ninety degrees from each other; a quadrate.
(dated) The act of squaring, or quarrelling; a quarrel.
The front of a woman's dress over the bosom, usually worked or embroidered.
(lb) .
Shaped like a (the polygon).
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)
, title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=1 Forming a right angle, especially (nautical) at right angles with the mast or the keel, and parallel to the horizon; said of the yards of a square-rigged vessel when they are so braced.
Used in the names of units of area formed by multiplying a unit of length by itself.
Honest; straightforward.
Fair.
*
*
*
*
(senseid)(slang) Socially conventional; boring.
(cricket) In line with the batsman's popping crease.
Correctly aligned with respect to something else.
hearty; vigorous
* Beaumont and Fletcher
Having a shape broad for the height, with angular rather than curving outlines.
To adjust so as to align with or place at a right angle to something else.
To resolve.
To adjust or adapt so as to bring into harmony with something.
* Milton
(mathematics) Of a value, term or expression, to multiply by itself; to raise to the second power.
To draw, with a pair of compasses and a straightedge only, a with the same area as.
(soccer) To make a short low pass sideways across the pitch
* {{quote-news
, year=2011
, date=December 10
, author=David Ornstein
, title=Arsenal 1 - 0 Everton
, work=BBC Sport
(archaic) To take opposing sides; to quarrel.
To accord or agree exactly; to be consistent with; to suit; to fit.
* Cowper
(obsolete) To go to opposite sides; to take an attitude of offense or defense, or of defiance; to quarrel.
* Shakespeare
To take a boxing attitude; often with up'' or ''off .
To form with four sides and four right angles.
To form with right angles and straight lines, or flat surfaces.
To compare with, or reduce to, any given measure or standard.
(astrology) To hold a quartile position respecting.
* Creech
(nautical) To place at right angles with the keel.
Straight is a synonym of square.
As adjectives the difference between straight and square
is that straight is not crooked or bent; having a constant direction throughout its length while square is shaped like a (the polygon).As nouns the difference between straight and square
is that straight is a part of a racecourse, running track or other road etc that is not curved while square is any simple object with four nearly straight and nearly equal sides meeting at nearly right angles.As verbs the difference between straight and square
is that straight is to straighten while square is to adjust so as to align with or place at a right angle to something else.As a adverb straight
is of a direction relative to the subject, precisely; as if following a direct line.straight
English
Alternative forms
* streight (obsolete)Adjective
(er)citation
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.}}
Antonyms
* bent * crooked * curvedUsage 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 * straightwayAdverb
(en adverb)- The door will be straight ahead of you.
- Go straight back.
- On arriving at work, he went straight to his office.
- I know thy generous temper well; / Fling but the appearance of dishonour on it, / It straight takes fire, and mounts into a blaze.
- He claims he can hold his breath for three minutes straight .
Noun
(en noun)- My friends call straights "heteros".
- A straight = a straighter = a straight cut, une cigarette en tabac de Virginie.]
Synonyms
* (heterosexual) hetero, breeder * (normal person) seesquare
English
Noun
(en noun)- I took refuge in the square form and exhibited a picture which consisted of nothing more than a black square on a white field.
- There are so many uses for the square , in fact, that a new model will usually come complete with a booklet enumerating its applications. -
The Carpenter's Square
- The statue of Alexander VII. stands in the large square of the town.
- You're not in Wisconsin, Dave. The big story isn't about a cow wandering into the town square .
- You may not move a piece to a square already occupied by one of your own pieces.
- 64 is the square of 8.
- the brave squares of war
- After disastrous attempts to break the Russian squares , during which, Longworth recounts, ‘the best and the bravest of the warriors fell victim to their own rashness’, the Circassians likewise changed their tactics.
- Why do you always wear a tie? Don't be such a square !
- Enter your account number followed by a square .
- An ideal playing area is roughly circular in shape with a central area, the cricket square , measuring 27.44 metres by 27.44 metres and boundaries 45.75 metres from the sides of the square.
- 2006: Just as the basic unit of real estate measurement across the world is the square ... — (Macquarie Bank) (Australia), press release Macquarie releases Real Estate Market Outlook 2006 - "The World Squared" , 21 June 2006 [http://www.macquarie.com.au/au/about_macquarie/media_centre/20060621.htm]
- 2007: The house is very large and open and boasts 39 squares' of living space plus over 13 '''squares''' of decking area on 3 sides and 17 ' squares of garage and workshop downstairs. — Your Estate advertisement for Grindelwald Tasmania [http://www.yourestate.com.au/property_12753.php]
- ''Even when times were tough, we got three squares a day.
- They of Galatia [were] much more out of square .
- I have not kept my square .
- We live not on the square with such as these.
- (Shakespeare)
Synonyms
* (polygon) (rare) tetragon * (L-shaped tool) steel square, framing square, carpenter's square * (open space) piazza, plaza * (socially conventional person) see * hash, sharp, (US) pound signDerived terms
* carpenter's square * chi-square * combination square * difference of two squares * four square * framing square * goal square * kid on the square * Latin square * machinist square * magic square * market square * mean square * miter square * on the square * optical square * over square * perfect square * public square * Punnett square * set square * square bashing * squareless * square one * square-pushing * square tab shingle * steel square * T-square * three-square * town square * try square * under square * word squareAdjective
(er)citation, passage=The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century,
- a square corner
- square dealing
- to make or leave the accounts square
- By Heaven, square eaters. More meat, I say.
- a man of a square frame
Synonyms
* above board, on the level, on the square, on the up and up, straight * (socially conventional) bourgeoisDerived terms
(Terms derived from the adjective "square") * all square * be there or be square * fair and square * square bracket * square centimetre, square centimeter * square circle * square dancing * square deal * square drive * square flipper/squareflipper * square foot * squarehead * square inch * square leg * square knot * square matrix * square meal * square metre, square meter * square mile * square number * square pyramid * square rod * square root * square sail * square shooter * square-shouldered * square-toed * square wave * square yard * squarely * squareness * T-squaredVerb
(squar)- The casting was mounted on a milling machine so that its sides could be squared .
- John can square this question up for us.
- These results just don't square .
- I cannot square the results of the experiment with my hypothesis.
- ''to square our actions by the opinions of others
- Square my trial / To my proportioned strength.
- square the circle
citation, page= , passage=First, former Toffee Mikel Arteta sent Walcott racing clear but instead of shooting he squared towards Ramsey, who was foiled by Tony Hibbert.}}
- No works shall find acceptance that square not truly with the Scripture plan.
- Are you such fools / To square for this?
- (Dickens)
- (Spenser)
- to square mason's work
- (Shakespeare)
- the icy Goat and Crab that square the Scales
- to square the yards