to set things straight
5
4.2
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
aclarar las cosas
- During the meeting, she took a moment to set things straight regarding the project details.
- try to set things straight
- need to set things straight
Examples
-
He sees himself, Caroline tells me, as a good guy who wants to set things straight, to make it right again.
Fiction book (1994) -
You've forced me to come here and set things straight, personally!
-
I called her to set things straight, to tell her about everything.
-
It's time to set things straight.
-
Let me set things straight.
-
The fact is... your brother wanted to set things right, wanted to set things straight.
-
"I want to tell him to his face that I'm sorry and set things straight.
Fiction book (1997) -
She had a plan that would set things straight.
Fiction book (1997) -
If I don't like what I hear, I'll set things straight.
-
I'll set things straight with you and Gloria.
Synonyms
363
2.8
To make something easy to understand
248
3.3
To make something clear so others can understand it
222
2.7
To find and fix a problem or confusion
172
2.3
To explain something so people understand it
167
3.4
To solve a problem or make a misunderstanding clear
96
3.9
To correct a wrong idea and make things clear
42
3.2
Give the true facts to fix a wrong idea
Antonyms
How Clear
623
3.3
- Informal
5
4.2
172
2.3
248
3.3
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to clarify or correct a misunderstanding' is derivable from combining 'set' (to place or cause to be) with 'straight' (correct/honest), so learners can access a plausible sense of making something correct; however the phrase is a conventionalized metaphor (to 'make things straight') and the exact usage and argument structure (set someone/things straight) is somewhat idiomatic. Cross-linguistically similar metaphors (e.g. 'straighten out') make the sense partially transparent but not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Set things straight comes from the simple image of placing objects so they are neat and even: set means to put in place and straight means lined up, like pushing crooked books back on a shelf. So, to set things straight means 'to make something clear' or 'to correct a misunderstanding'.