A homophone of the word strait is straight. Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation or sound.
Are straight and strait homophones?
The words “straight” and “strait” are homophones: They sound alike but have different meanings.
Straight can mean “without bend,” “heterosexual,” and “fairness,” while strait means “narrow, strict, or constricted.” This is why “strait” is the original spelling of “straitjacket” and “straitlaced.” Given that the imagery of a straitjacket and straitlaced person reflects being upright or following a narrow path,
How do you use the word strait?
Strait in a Sentence
In Venice, Italy, we went on a tour in a gondola down a narrow strait or stretch of water.The Strait of Dover in England links the North Sea to the English Channel with a thin strip of water.Coming out of the slender strait was a heavily laden freight ship riding low in the water.
Straight and strait are homophones (“one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling”), and many people are in the habit of confusing such creatures, particularly when used in fixed phrases.
Why are straits called straits?
A strait is a narrow passage of water that connects two larger bodies of water. Straits are naturally occurring, which means that they are not made by people. You can remember this term because straits let you sail ‘straight’ on through from one body of water to another.
Is it dire straits or dire straits?
When you are threading your way through troubles as if you were traversing a dangerously narrow passage you are in “dire straits.” The expression and the band by that name are often transformed by those who don’t understand the word “strait” into “dire straights.”
Surprise is the correct way to spell the word. Surprize was once an alternative spelling, but it’s very rarely used today. Suprise is not an acceptable way to spell surprise.
Where does the phrase Dire Straits come from?
In 1888, Joseph Thomson used the phrase dire straits in the story “A Masai Adventure.” The first recorded usage of the phrase was a speech by former United States president Franklin Delano Roosevelt on July 24, 1933.
What does it mean to be in financial straits?
Use the word straits when you’re talking about a truly difficult situation. When you don’t have enough money to pay your rent, you’re in pretty bad financial straits. These figurative straits are inspired by geographical straits, or water passages, that are too narrow to be sailed through.
What is strait example?
Strait is narrow waterway between two larger bodies of water. An example of a strait is the Bering Strait. Straits that were treacherous; the Strait of Gibraltar; the Bosporus Straits.
What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Strait and narrow’?
The source of the expression is the Bible, specifically Matthew 7:13/14. That clearly opts for ‘strait’ rather than ‘straight’, as it calls on a now rather archaic meaning of strait, that is, ‘a route or channel, so narrow as to make passage difficult’.
What is an antonym for strait?
a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water. Antonyms: wide, broad.
What is the hardest spelling bee word?
The 25 Toughest Winning Words Ever Spelled In The National Spelling Bee
Xanthosis. Year: 1995. Euonym. Year: 1997. Succedaneum. Year: 2001. Autochthonous. Year: 2004. Appoggiatura. Year: 2005. Ursprache. Year: 2006. Laodicean. Year: 2009. Pronunciation: lay-ah-duh-SEE-un. Cymotrichous. Year: 2011. Pronunciation: sahy-MAH-truh-kus.
What does Lite spell?
First, for the majority of meanings, light is the proper spelling; second, for a particular meaning (e.g., describing low-calorie foods), the spelling lite is a variant of the standard light; and third, for another particular meaning (something lacking in substance or threat), lite is the proper spelling.
