ramrod straight

ramrod straight

Having a very erect posture, typically accompanied by a serious or formal demeanor. He sat ramrod straight at the table, glowering at me throughout the meal. She's always ramrod straight during class, studiously taking notes.
See also: ramrod, straight
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

ˌramrod ˈstraight

,

(as) ˌstraight as a ˈramrod

(of a person) with a very straight back and looking serious and formal: As she walked in she could feel the tension in the room, with her mother sitting ramrod straight in her chair.
A ramrod is a long straight piece of iron used in the past to push explosive into a gun.
See also: ramrod, straight
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • (as) straight as a ramrod
  • be as stiff as a ramrod
  • (as) stiff as a board
  • (as) stiff as a poker
  • get serious
  • Get serious!
  • (as) stiff as a ramrod
  • like a whipped dog
  • minor
  • in a minor key
References in periodicals archive
After a reputation of honesty and probity as military governor, petroleum minister, member of the Supreme Military Council, his colleagues found no one better to wear the diadem as military head of state than the ramrod straight man from Daura.
We've been told slouching is bad for us since since our school days - but school anddesk jobsaren't exactly conducive to having a ramrod straight spine.
The genius of Cold Pursuit lies largely in the supporting cast, who plays the oddballs against the ramrod straight Citizen of the Year Nels.
Grizzled old men with weathered faces and burnished medals pinned on their chests stood silently before the cenotaph, some ramrod straight, others with their heads bowed seemingly in prayer.
HONEY the sniffer dog freezes and goes ramrod straight as drug busters collar another smuggler.
Her well-known posture was evident as she sat, poised and ramrod straight, in this recent interview at W Westwood Hotel.
I'm sure for those more inclined to analysis it would've proved a stirring image at the time: superimposing South Africa's geopolitical shackles on the juvenile Forrest Gump, hoping that once the running commenced then the country would be as ramrod straight and inspiring as the actor Tom Hanks was in the film.
Even during rare events put on for their entertainment, prisoners are only allowed to sit ramrod straight with their hands on their laps.
Walter Walsh was 92 years old when I first met him, still stood ramrod straight as we would expect a Marine to stand, and could still see quite well without the aid of glasses.
Not a twitch, ramrod straight, face covered in camo, eyes darting--nothing escapes those eyes.
He is the example a teacher would use in class to get across the concept of 'ramrod straight'.
Denise, who up until then had been listening in quiet sympathy, sat up ramrod straight and didn't miss a beat.
The other extreme, a ramrod straight back, says "fight or flight." A straight but relaxed spine puts you in a mental and physical state from which words flow smoothly and easily.
He stood ramrod straight in his dress blues, talking about God and country, invoking the memory of Pres.
When he was in his 70s, with a big white beard and ramrod straight back, he walked up to Wessenden Head twice a day.