Imagine being up on stage for a spelling bee. You’re feeling good. Your confidence is shining through your smile. The word caller clears his throat.
Your next word is “straightjacket”/”straitjacket.” How sure of yourself do you feel?
Oh no, doubt is setting in.
Okay, rewind that scenario. Let’s give you another choice. The word caller clears his throat.
Your next word is “straightlaced”/”straitlaced.” Feel better? Worse? Hmmm…
How do you spell these words?
Let’s get to the bottom of things and learn the correct spelling, that spelling that’s going to take you to the next round of that spelling bee and beyond.
Let’s start simple:
- “Straight” means “having no curves or bends,” “moving in a uniform direction,” and sometimes “heterosexual.”
- “Strait” means “narrow,” “strict,” “a narrow body of water that connects two larger areas of water, like seas or oceans,” or “constricted.”
Awesome. No problems here right?
So let’s turn to our next question. Is it “straitjacket” or “straightjacket”? Do you feel like spelling quandaries sometimes might drive you into one? But things would be pretty dire if one is needed and you don’t even know how to spell it, right?
Answer: “Straitjacket” is the standard spelling.
It is a narrow, constricting jacket. “Straitjacket” dates back to roughly 1814, and oh the writing prompts that could come from this single word.
“Straightjacket” is not technically correct, though it has been used so frequently by those that don’t know the difference that some dictionaries consider it an alternate spelling. Not all do, though, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
But this doesn’t end today’s “straight” vs. “strait” debate.
Is it “straitlaced” or “straightlaced”? Knowing the definitions of “strait” vs. “straight,” where do you lean? Or perhaps, knowing the spelling of “straitjacket,” do you think these words are similar or not?
Answer: “Straitlaced” is the standard spelling.
Again, we’re talking about constriction as well as walking the narrow path, as in the right path. “Straitlaced” has been in use since roughly 1554—yep, there’s a solid history to this word, so let’s do our best to respect it.
“Straightlaced” is also used so frequently (in mistake), that some dictionaries have started to deem it an “alternate,” but knowing the true correct answer is important, folks. And not just for spelling bee situations.
Interestingly, these two words are not historically connected. “Straight” is etymologically linked with “stretch,” through a common Old English root streccan, while “strait” is etymologically linked with “strict” through a common Latin root stringere.
Have you ever been scared straight by a spelling bee caller? (Oooh, that “scared straight” does have the “gh” included.) Should we talk about the Bering Strait or other sea passages? (You knew these spellings, I’m guessing.) When I say “dire straits,” do you think of something majorly problematic or the band? If you should walk the “straight and narrow,” could you rephrase this as walking “the straight and strait”?
So many spelling and language questions, but here’s another one you have the answer to.
Good luck, and happy writing, folks.
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