straight-laced

Alternative forms

 * strait-laced
 * straitlaced

Etymology
Widely agreed to have originated (centuries ago) in homophonic confusion (in speech) of, but long since so widely accepted and used, because having such strongly apparent analogy with in its senses relating to  and  (compare ), that it can no longer accurately be called erroneous; instead it is an established alternative form with its own reanalyzed surface analysis. Compare with *; the latter is still usually regarded as an error, but the relationship is analogous.

Adjective

 * 1) Having narrow views on moral matters; prudish.

Synonyms

 * tight-laced

Translations

 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, , ,
 * Dutch:
 * Finnish: ,
 * French:
 * German:, ,
 * Russian:
 * Spanish: