go straight

English

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

go straight (third-person singular simple present goes straight, present participle going straight, simple past went straight, past participle gone straight)

(idiomatic) To discontinue engaging in criminal acts; to become a law-abiding person.
- 1921, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 3, in The Efficiency Expert:
  "Oh," said Jimmy, "if I ever want any one to break into a safe, come to you, huh?"
  "You get me," replied the other. . . .
  "I should think," said Jimmy, "that a man of your ability could earn a living by less precarious methods." "You would think so," replied the Lizard. "I've tried two or three times to go straight. Wore out my shoes looking for a job."
- 1951 Sept. 24, "Mexico: Toward the Perfect State," Time:
  [H]e got a law passed threatening them with jail if they did not go straight in the future.
- 1989, John Grisham, A Time to Kill, reprint edition, →ISBN, page 12:
  He's proved very reliable since he was paroled. He's a good kid tryin' to go straight, for the most part.
- 1995 July 2, John Tierney, "The Big City: Cheats Like Us," New York Times (retrieved 13 Sep 2012):
  "I can't take no more time in jail," he said. "I'm going straight."

Synonyms

play it straight

References

go straight at OneLook Dictionary Search