Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to draw a straight furrow

to draw a straight furrow

8.4
To follow a steady plan and not get distracted
  • idiom
translation icon : seguir un camino recto
  • If we want to finish this project successfully, we'll need to draw a straight furrow and not get distracted.

Examples

  • Farmers must draw a straight furrow when planting, but the principle applies just as well to our ambitions.

  • She believes in drawing a straight furrow in both her personal and professional life.

  • He drew a straight furrow in the field.

  • Can you draw a straight furrow like that?

  • To achieve our goals, we must draw a straight furrow and stay focused on our plan.

  • The team decided to draw a straight furrow in their efforts to meet the deadline without any distractions.

  • By maintaining discipline, we can draw a straight furrow toward our objectives.

Synonyms

to plow ahead
vsto draw a straight furrow
  • US
3 4.7

Continue doing something even when there are problems

follows a steady careful course rather than persisting through obstacles

Antonyms

to deviate
51 5.8

To change direction or move away from a planned route

to waver
12 4.8

To move or shake in a slight, unsteady way

How Steady

to draw a straight furrow
8.4

Surface Forms

draw a straight furrow infinitive
drawing a straight furrow present participle
draws a straight furrow third person singular
drew a straight furrow past
drawn a straight furrow past participle

Morphology

draw + a + straight + furrow

The literal meaning — to make a straight trench — is directly compositional from 'draw' + 'straight' + 'furrow', and the figurative sense (keeping a steady, unwavering course) is a readily inferable metaphor from that image. However, the extended, non-literal meaning requires a metaphorical mapping that a B1 learner may not automatically make without some exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Draw a straight furrow comes from farming, where to draw a straight furrow means to plow a neat, straight line in the field. Making straight furrows showed steady care and a clear direction, so the phrase now means 'to follow a steady course' or 'to do a task carefully and without being distracted'.