The straight and narrow?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

The straight and narrow?

Now, that’s something nice to say about a bureaucrat, I am sure. At any rate it’s something nice to say about “our” bureaucrat “who has always walked the straight and narrow”.

“Straight and narrow”, as you see now, stands for the right path. Take it as the main road, for instance. This is the way most people travel by. Follow the main road and you’ll get to places, without getting lost. The main road might be understandably crowded, and therefore sometimes too “straight and narrow” for your comfort but it gets you to places. You won’t have to worry about getting lost. As a bureaucrat, for instance, if you follow the rules and never accept additional pay for doing paperwork, i.e. do not accept bribery, you’ll never be punished accordingly.

Hence, you see, “straight and narrow” represents the strict or restricted but correct line of path one walks, or a path a bureaucrat, of all people, are supposed to walk. Precisely because this correct line of path is restricted and limiting, it is not always comfortable and not easy of accomplishment. Hence those who actually walk the straight and narrow path are commended for the moral fortitude they have, allowing them to stick with it for so long.

“Straight and narrow”, by the way, is a term that originates from the Christian Bible. “Strait” and “narrow” do, as a matter of fact. This, from Phrase.org:

‘Straight’ is a much more frequently used word than ‘strait’ these days and so the most common question about this phrase concerns the spelling - should it be ‘strait and narrow’ or ‘straight and narrow’? Well, that depends on just how pedantic you want to be. The source of the expression is the Bible, specifically Matthew 7:13/14. The King James’ Version gives these verses as: