Straits

Definition: Straits

Straits

Noun

1. A bad or difficult situation or state of affairs.

2. A difficult juncture; "a pretty pass"; "matters came to a head yesterday".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "straits" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Synonyms: Straits

Difficulty

Reduced to straits; hard pressed, sorely pressed; run hard; pinched, put to it, straitened; hard up, hard put to it, hard set; put to one's shifts; puzzled, at a loss; (uncertain); at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, at a standstill; graveled, nonplused, nonplussed, stranded, aground; stuck fast, set fast; up a tree, at bay, aux abois, driven into a corner, driven from pillar to post, driven to extremity, driven to one's wit's end, driven to the wall; au bout de son Latin; out of one's depth; thrown out.

Poverty

Bad circumstances, poor circumstances, need circumstances, embarrassed circumstances, reduced circumstances, straightened circumstances; slender means, narrow means; straits; hand to mouth existence, res angusta domi, low water, impecuniosity.

Crosswords: Straits

Kindly send 300,000 American dollars immediately, as we are in dire straits. Your humble servant, Semmi (Coming to America; writing credit: David Sheffield)

The Day Irish Mail from Euston Entering the Tubular Bridge Over the Menai Straits Menai Bridge (1898)

Florida Straits (1986)

Desperate Straits (1981)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

References

• Straits Resources Ltd.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)

• The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)

• The Straits Trading Co Limited: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)

  (more reference examples)

Books

• Michilimackinac: A Tale of the Straits (reference)

• Navigating the Darwin Straits (reference)

• The Baltic Straits (International Straits of the World, V. 6) (reference)

• The Florida Keys: True Stories of the Perilous Straits (Florida's History Through Its Places) (reference)

• The Legal Regime of the Turkish Straits (International Straits of the World, 13) (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Bering Straits Agluktuk (reference)

• Straits Times - Singapore Edition - Complete Set (reference)

• Straits Times - Weekly Edition (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Music

• Alchemy: Dire Straits Live [LIVE] (reference)

• Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

C&GS 12" theodolite Used in Clarence Straits work. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

South entrance to Adugak Straits. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Old settler's cabin in Wide Bay - Shelikof Straits area. Credit: America's Coastlines.

"The Trollers Reward - on San Juan Straits". In: "Puget Sound and Western Washington Cities-Towns Scenery", by Robert A. Reid, Robert A. Reid Publisher, Seattle, 1912. P. 133. Credit: America's Coastlines.

The BELGICA in Beagle Channel, Straits of Magellan. In: "Resultats du Voyage du S. Y. BELGICA en 1897-1898-1899 .... Rapports Scientifiques ... Travaux Hydrographiques et Instructions Nautiques" by G. Lecointe, 1903. P. 110. Plate I. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.

Sunset in Icy Straits area. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.

Currents and Temperature - Atlantic waters enter the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar and flow east along the North African coast, becoming more saline as evaporation exceeds freshwater inflows. Thus, the Mediterranean is mor e saline than the Atlantic. Strong temperature, salinity, and available nutrien t gradients lead to high biodiversity reflected by regional faunal differences. Credit: Fisheries.

In: "The Meteor Expedition," by F. Spiess, German Atlantic Expedition 1925-1927. The METEOR in Beagle Channel, Straits of Magellan. Plate 66. Library Call Number C/La S755. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 28. Fluxmeter invented by Admiral Stepan O. Makaroff in 1882 and used in the Straits of Bosporus. Its initial test was made from the Russian vessel TAMAN in the Straits of Bosporus in 1882 at about 73 meters depth. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 29. Pillsbury current meter invented by John Elliott Pillsbury and used in an extensive study of the Gulf Stream studies beginning in 1876. But it was not until 1885 that Pillsbury used this instrument in the Straits of Florida at a depth of 640 meters. He was a naval officer assigned to duty on the Coast and Geodetic Survey Ship BLAKE during these years. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Germany renounces on her own behalf and on behalf of her nationals in favour of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers all rights, titles or privileges of whatever nature in the submarine cables set out below, or in any portions thereof: Emden-vigo: from the Straits of Dover to off vigo; Emden-Brest: from off Cherbourg to Brest; Emden-Teneriffe: from off Dunkirk to off Teneriffe; Emden-Azores (1): from the Straits of Dover to Fayal; Emden-Azores (2): from the Straits of Dover to Fayal; Azores-New York (1): from Fayal to New York; Azores-New York (2): from Fayal to the longitude of Halifax, Teneriffe-Monrovia: from off Teneriffe to off Monrovia; Monrovia-Lome: from about lat.: 2° 30' N.; long.: 7° 40' W. of Greenwich: to about lat.: 2° 20' N.; long.: 5° 30, W. of Greenwich; and from about lat.: 3° 48' N.; long.:0° 00', to Lome; Lome-Duala: from Lome to Duala; Monrovia-Pernambuco: from off Monrovia to off Pernambuco; Constantinople-Constanza: from Constantinople to Constanza; Yap-Shanghai, Yap-Guam, and Yap-Menado (Celebes): from Yap Island to Shanghai, from Yap Island to Guam Island, and from Yap Island to Menado. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Jean Valjean had been in worse straits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Business

For trading purposes, its strategic location along the Straits of Malacca is enhanced by its proximity to Southeast Asia's most important ports. (references)

The UAE has a coastline and seaports inside as well as outside the Straits of Hormuz, which is the entrance to the Persian Gulf. The total area of the UAE is about the size of Maine comprising of seven emirates, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, Fujeirah, and Ras Al Khaimah. (references)

Civil Liberties

Malaysia

For example, in January 2000 the group editor in chief of a local press conglomerate was removed after its flagship newspaper, the New Straits Times, carried several articles that reportedly angered the UMNO Supreme Council. (references)

Economic History

Malaysia

The primary business-oriented paper is the Business Times, published by the New Straits Times group. (references)

Malaysia

Malaysia has a number of English language newspapers, the largest being the New Straits Times and the Star. (references)

Indigenous People

Australia

A wide variety of government initiatives and programs seek to improve all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander life. (references)

Australia

Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander Commission (ATSIC) welcomed this repeal and called upon Western Australia to follow suit. (references)

Australia

Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander Commission (ATSIC) Chairman Geoff Clark asserted that the council should strive for a true reconciliation guaranteed by both formal recognition of indigenous rights and a treaty. (references)

Political Economy

Australia

The Government administers many programs to improve the socioeconomic conditions of Aboriginals and Torres Straits Islanders, who together form about 2 percent of the population, and to address longstanding discrimination against them. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "straits": desperate straits ♦ dire straits ♦ financial straits ♦ in dire straits ♦ in straits ♦ straits of dover ♦ the straits ♦ the straits of gibraltar. Additional references.

Ending with "straits": cross-straits.

Albanian

nevojë (call, demand, exigency, maun, necessity, need, pinch, requirement, want). (various references)

Arabic 

‏وضع صعب (squeeze), ‏ضيق (bottleneck, canyon, choke, close, contract, cramped, hardship, incommodious, malaise, narrow, narrowness, need, oppression, parochial, pinch, scrimpy, shrink, slit, straiten, strict, succinctness, tag, tight, tighten, tightness). (various references)

Bulgarian 

нужди (demands, needs), затруднения. (various references)

Chinese 

海峽 (channel, straight), 海峡 (Channel, Channeling, Channelling, strait). (various references)

Czech

tíseò (distress, oppression). (various references)

Dutch

slechte papieren (financial difficulties, financial embarrassment, financial straits), vaste oeververbinding tussen de Scandinavische zee-engten:verbinding:Belt:Sont (fixed link across the Scandinavian straits), geldverlegenheid (financial difficulties, financial embarrassment, financial straits). (various references)

Finnish

ahdinkotila (distress, predicament, straitened circumstances), ahdinko (crowd, crush, difficulty). (various references)

French

situation difficile, gêne. (various references)

German

Meerenge (sound, Strait). (various references)

Greek 

στενά (closely, narrowly, pass), στενοχώρια (harassment, inconvenience, perplexity, pinch, tryingness, worry), δυσκολία (arduousness, crux, difficulty, gaff, inconvenience, knot, rub, scabrousness, straitness). (various references)

Hebrew 

מצוקה (adversity, distress, hardship, misery, need, stress), מצור (besiegement, blockade, distress, fortification, fortress, siege), מצר (defile, depressed, fix, gut, narrow pass, neck, orifice, sorry, straitness, stricture). (various references)

Italian

stretto (channel, clenched, close, exact, fast, firm, narrow, near, packed, precise, sharp, sound, strait, strict, tight). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

台湾海峡 (Straits of Taiwan). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

たいわんかいきょう (Straits of Taiwan). (various references)

Korean 

해협 (strait). (various references)

Pig Latin

aitsstray.(various references)

Portuguese

estreito (close, cramped, gat, gullet, hidebound, one-track, parochial, poky, strait, thin, tight). (various references)

Romanian

nevoie (business, call, demand, destitution, difficulty, lack, necessity, need, poverty, trouble, want). (various references)

Russian 

стесненное положение, затруднительное положение (fix, nonplus, predicament, quandary). (various references)

Scottish

sàs (difficulties, grasp : an sàs, in, restraint), teinn (calamity, distress, sickness). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

moreuz (sound, strait), škripac (fix, hole, jam, pinch, scrape, strait). (various references)

Spanish

paso (advance, advances, clearing, crossing, deed, despatch, dispatch, doorway, drawing, dried, duct, entrée, exaltation, foot walk, footfall, footprint, footstep, fullness, fulness, gait, gangway, gate, gulf, gut, hangar, ignorance, jars, jaunt, lead, line, move, movement, overtaking, pace, pass, passage, passageway, passing, path, pitch, progress, shooting, stair, step, Strait, stride, tack, thoroughfare, track, transition, tread, walk, walkout), necesidad (desire, hunger, necessity, need, neediness, pinch, poverty, requirement, starvation, want), estrecheces. (various references)

Swedish

svårigheter (difficulties, strait), sund (channel, healthy, neck, salubrious, sane, sound, straight, strait, stright, well, wholesome). (various references)

Turkish

sıkıntı (adversity, agitation, annoyance, anxiety, bore, boredom, bother, botheration, difficulty, dire straits, discomfort, distress, doldrums, draft, embarrassment, famine, fear, fret, gloom, gloominess, grayness, greyness, groan, hardship, heebie-jeebies, inconvenience, incubus, infliction, load, megrims, mopes, nuisance, oppression, pill, pip, pressure, rigor, rigour, rock, scrape, Strait, stringency, tedium, the megrims, toil, toils, tribulation, trouble, vexation, weight, willies), yokluk (absence, absentness, dearth, exiguity, failure, famine, hardship, lack, neediness, nonappearance, non-appearance, nonexistence, non-existence, nudity, penury, poverty, privation, shortage, Strait, tightness, want), darlık (closeness, denseness, drought, exiguity, grayness, greyness, narrowness, pressure, shortness, stringency, tightness), üzüntü (affliction, care, chagrin, damp, dejection, desolation, distress, disturbance, fret, grief, hurt, mopes, regret, sadness, sorrow, trouble, unhappiness, woe, worry). (various references)

freto, fretum. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Misspellings

"Straits" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: attraits, sitarist, staits, straiat, strails, straite, strati, strats, streats, Strelitz, striat, striatus. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: artists, tsarist.

-1 letter: artist, sistra, sitars, stairs, starts, strait, strati, traits.

-2 letters: airts, arsis, astir, saris, satis, sitar, stair, stars, start, stats, stirs, stria, tarsi, tarts, trait, trass, tsars.

-3 letters: airs, airt, aits, arts, rats, rias, sari, sati, sirs, sits, sris, star, stat, stir, tars, tart, tass, tats, tsar.

-4 letters: air, ais, ait, ars, art, ass, att.

+1 letter: artistes, artsiest, astricts, misstart, satirist, sitarist, striates, transits, tsarists, turistas, tzarists.

+2 letters: abstricts, altruists, antirusts, chartists, distracts, gastritis, misstarts, mistreats, naturists, resistant, satirists, sestertia, sitarists, starriest, straights, straitens, straitest, strawiest, strontias, teratisms, tessitura, traitress, transmits, trashiest, treatises, tristezas, tsaritzas, ultraists, votarists.

+3 letters: abstrusity, antistress, artistries, auteurists, brattiness, dissertate, distraints, dramatists, estimators, guitarists, hesitaters, karateists, kickstarts, misstarted, nonartists, patristics, prostatism, protistans, reinstates, resistants, restraints, ritualists, rusticates, separatist, shirttails, shirtwaist, starchiest, starfruits, starlights, stationers, statuaries, sterilants, stirabouts, straitness, strategies, strategist, stratifies, streakiest, streamiest, striations, striptease, swarthiest, sweatshirt, tanistries, tapestries, tarantisms, tearstains, tessituras, therapists, tracksuits, traitoress, transients, transistor, trapezists, travesties.