straight arrow meaning (informal): definition

straight arrow

noun

Etymology From archery, in which an arrow that has a straight shaft flies where you shoot it, while a crooked arrow will veer off.

US, Informal Someone who behaves according to conventional standards; one noted for honesty and integrity.

He was put down at first as a "straight arrow" — a do-gooder — and the description was sometimes accompanied by the cry, "ugh." as in old Westerns when the settler is shot by the wily redskin.1965 April 2, Paul O'Neil, “Bradley: good man and true”, in LIFE, volume 58, number 13, page 93:
But he might not be a straight arrow. I'm going to get the dirt on him from someone.1988, Diana McRae, All the Muscle You Need, page 36:

3 more examples

My great-grandpa had a reputation as a straight arrow, because he was so honest in all his dealings.2011, Ruth Jean Dale, Kids, Critters and Cupid:
If there is any man in our family who was and is a straight arrow, it is Kearn.2012, Allen J. Roy, Lemme Tell You a Story: Memoirs of REV. Msgr. Allen J. Roy, page 32:
I folded my arms across my chest. "I'm about to open a weed café! How is that being a straight arrow?"2023, Emily George, A Half-Baked Murder, page 231:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see straight, arrow.

The goal can not be attained by a straight arrow flight.1908, Charles Francis Horne, The Technique of the Novel, page 28:
"It's a straight arrow approach," he said.1970, United States. Congress. Economic Joint Committee, The Dismissal of A. Ernest Fitzgerald by the Department of Defense, page 197:

3 more examples

It will be reassuring to many who read this book to learn that success can be achieved by both a straight arrow path and a spiral path.1995, Gerhard Sonnert, Gerald James Holton, Who Succeeds in Science?: The Gender Dimension, page viii:
It's best to have both, a balanced bow and a straight arrow.2005, Larry Lichtenwalter, David--Dancing Like a King, page 140:
A straight arrow on the pavement means the lane is only for traffic moving straight ahead and that a vehicle in the lane should not turn either right or left.2014, Chun Liu, Principle and Application Progress in Location-Based Services, page 283: