straight from the shoulder

adjective

Done in a direct manner; blunt.

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Meanings

adjective
  1. idiomaticoften hyphenatedDone in a direct manner; blunt.

    "Are yuh going to let the Pilgrim hang around here this summer?" he demanded in his straight-from-the-shoulder fashion.

    1908, B. M. Bower, chapter 19, in The Long Shadow
    2 more examples

    He delivered his blow straight from the shoulder, felt the jar right up his arm, and realised suddenly that he was striking something passive and unresisting.

    1896, Joseph Conrad, chapter IV, in An Outcast of the Islands, London: T. Fisher Unwin […], →OCLC, part IV, page 276

    "I intend to travel quite soon to Iraq and meet with our military leaders and other personnel there," he said. "I look forward to hearing their honest assessments of the situation on the ground and to having the benefit of their advice—unvarnished and straight from the shoulder—on how to proceed in the weeks and months ahead."

    2006 December 19, Jeffrey Donovan, “New Report Says Iraq Attacks Hit Record High”, in Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, retrieved 11 Jun 2009
adverb
  1. idiomaticIn a straightforward manner; directly; bluntly.

    He's an uncomplicated working-class kid who speaks, jab-like, straight from the shoulder.

    2005 November 20, Kevin Mitchell, “Listen to the dreams of fighters”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 11 Jun 2009
    1 more example

    I'd jes' like to drop into the Eastry Arms, jes' when all those beggars in the parlour are sittin' down to whist, Ruck and Marbel and all, and give 'em ten minutes of my mind, George. Straight from the shoulder. Jes' exactly what I think of them.

    1908, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “(please specify |book 1 to 4)”, in Tono-Bungay […], Toronto, Ont.: The Macmillan Company of Canada, Ltd., →OCLC

Origin

From a technique for delivering a strong punch.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

straight from the shoulder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/straight%20from%20the%20shoulder

MLA

“straight from the shoulder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/straight%20from%20the%20shoulder. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “straight from the shoulder,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/straight%20from%20the%20shoulder.

Source: straight from the shoulder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.