narrow
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admiral of the narrow seas
obsolete One who drunkenly vomits into someone else's lap. Stay away from Ted. He cannot hold his liquor and is known to become admiral of the narrow seas after a few drinks. I bet that if Tommy doesn't stop drinking now, he'll be admiral of the narrow seas later. I became admiral of the narrow seas last night? Wow, that's mortifying.
be narrow-minded
To be rigid in one's thinking and unwilling to consider other views or possibilities. Why are you being so narrow-minded on this? Why shouldn't gay people be able to get legally married if they so choose, just like everybody else?
be on the straight and narrow
To maintain a morally upright way of life; to only make choices that are considered morally and legally correct. Now that I have a conviction on my record, I really have to be on the straight and narrow going forward. My father was on the straight and narrow until the day he died, and I think he regretted never doing anything wild or unexpected when he had the chance.
have a narrow escape
To barely avoid danger or problems. That guy's so lucky to be alive—his car got stuck on the train tracks, and he had a very narrow escape! The police were hot on our tail, but we had a narrow escape after making a sharp turn on the highway! We're on our way back to the hideout now.
keep on the straight and narrow
To maintain a morally upright way of life; to only make choices that are considered morally and legally correct. Now that I have a conviction on my record, I really have to keep on the straight and narrow going forward. My father kept on the straight and narrow until the day he died, and I think he regretted never doing anything wild or unexpected when he had the chance.
keep to the straight and narrow
To maintain a morally upright way of life; to only make choices that are considered morally or legally correct. Now that I have a conviction on my record, I really have to keep to the straight and narrow going forward. My father was a very religious man, and he kept to the straight and narrow until the day he died.
narrow at the equator
Very hungry. The phrase alludes to the idea of having a slimmer midsection due to not eating. I'm so narrow at the equator—can we please get some food now?
See also: narrow
narrow down
To pare the number of people or things on a list down to a more manageable or select number. A noun or pronoun can be used between "narrow" and "down." We've narrowed down our list of candidates to just three, but it's going to be nigh impossible to choose from them. Let's narrow it down to just our very top choices, otherwise we'll never pick a place to go.
narrow escape
A situation in which danger or problems are barely avoided. That guy barely made it over the tracks before the train came. What a narrow escape!
narrow squeak
1. A situation in which danger or problems are barely avoided. We had just cleaned and tidied the fridge before the health inspector arrived. What a narrow squeak! The expedition had a very narrow squeak when an avalanche tore through the path they had just come from.
2. A victory or success that very nearly ended in failure. After his narrow squeak at the polls, the prime minister must find a way to instill confidence in the country at large once again. After a narrow squeak, they have managed to hold onto their league championship.
narrow the gap
To lessen the distance, difference, or disparity between two sides, viewpoints, positions, etc. Now that I know he's making $10,000 more than me, management will have to narrow the gap if they want me to stay on. It would really behoove those in power to work to narrow the enormous gap between liberals and conservatives.
narrow-minded
Rigid in one's thinking and unwilling to consider or tolerate other views or possibilities. Why are you so narrow-minded on this? Why shouldn't gay people be able to get legally married if they so choose, just like everybody else?
off the straight and narrow
Not or no longer living a morally upright way of life; making choices that are considered immoral and illegal. Now that I have a conviction on my record, I can't afford to fall off the straight and narrow going forward. My father never went off the straight and narrow, and I think he regretted not doing anything wild or unexpected when he had the chance.
on the straight and narrow
Maintaining a morally upright way of life; only making choices that are considered morally and legally correct. Now that I have a conviction on my record, I really have to keep on the straight and narrow going forward. My father stayed on the straight and narrow until the day he died, and I think he regretted never doing anything wild or unexpected while he had the chance.
stay on the straight and narrow
To maintain a morally upright way of life; to only make choices that are considered morally and legally correct. Now that I have a conviction on my record, I really have to stay on the straight and narrow going forward. My father stayed on the straight and narrow until the day he died, and I think he regretted never doing anything wild or unexpected when he had the chance.
stay to the straight and narrow
To maintain a morally upright way of life; to only make choices that are considered morally or legally correct. Now that I have a conviction on my record, I really have to stay to the straight and narrow going forward. My father was a very religious man, and he stayed to the straight and narrow until the day he died.
the straight and narrow
A morally upright way of life. I need to stay on the straight and narrow so I don't get arrested again.
walk the straight and narrow
To maintain a morally upright way of life; to only make choices that are considered morally and legally correct. Now that I have a conviction on my record, I really have to walk the straight and narrow going forward. My father walked the straight and narrow until the day he died, and I think he regretted never doing anything wild or unexpected when he had the chance.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
keep to the straight and narrow
Fig. to behave properly and correctly; to stay out of trouble. If you keep to the straight and narrow, you can't help but win in the end. I always keep to the straight and narrow.
narrow something down (to people or things)
to reduce a list of possibilities from many to a selected few. We can narrow the choice down to green or red. We narrowed down the choice to you or Paul.
narrow squeak
Fig. a success almost not achieved; a lucky or marginal success; a problem almost not surmounted. That was a narrow squeak. I don't know how I survived. Another narrow squeak like that and I'll give up.
the straight and narrow
Fig. a straight and law-abiding route through life. (Referring to a morally rigid and correct course of behavior. Fixed order.) You should have no trouble with the police if you stick to the straight and narrow. Roger was the kind who followed the straight and narrow every day of his life.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
narrow escape
A barely successful flight from or avoidance of danger or trouble, as in He had a narrow escape, since the bullet came within inches of his head. This expression uses narrow in the sense of "barely sufficient." [Late 1500s] For a newer synonym, see close call.
straight and narrow, the
The honest and upright way of living, as in He led a wild life when he was young, but he's been on the straight and narrow for some years . This expression is widely though to come from confusion of straight, "not crooked," with strait, "narrow," owing to a misinterpretation of a passage from the New Testament: "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life" (Matthew 7:14). The current phrase dates only from the first half of the 1800s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
the straight and narrow
COMMON If someone or something keeps you on the straight and narrow, they help you to live a good, honest life and prevent you from doing immoral or illegal things. He now had his faith to keep him on the straight and narrow. Note: You can also say that someone strays from the straight and narrow, meaning that they stop living a good, honest life and do something immoral or illegal. The goal is to prevent them from straying from the straight and narrow. Note: `Straight' was originally `strait', which meant `narrow'. The expression probably refers to a passage in the Bible: `Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.'(Matthew 7:14)
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
the straight and narrow
morally correct behaviour.The full form of the expression is the straight and narrow path or way . It developed from a misunderstanding of Matthew 7:14, ‘strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life’, where strait is in fact being used as another word for narrow .
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
a narrow eˈscape/ˈsqueak
a situation where somebody only just avoids injury, danger or failure: We had a narrow escape on the way here. The wind blew a tree down just in front of us. We could have been killed.keep to, stay on, etc. the ˌstraight and ˈnarrow
(informal) live your life according to strict moral principles: She’s stopped drinking and now she’s trying to stay on the straight and narrow.This phrase comes from the Bible, describing the path to Heaven.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
narrow squeak
n. a success almost not achieved; a lucky or marginal success; a problem almost not surmounted. That was a narrow squeak. I don’t know how I survived.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
straight and narrow, (walk) the
(Follow) the path of virtue. This term probably alludes to the biblical caution, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life” (Matthew 7:14), life here meaning salvation. Following the straight and narrow, however, was largely a Victorian concept of rectitude, and the term became current in the nineteenth century. John Dos Passos used it in The 42nd Parallel (1930): “Robbins . . . said that he . . . would have to follow the straight and narrow.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer