straighten up and fly right

English

Verb

straighten up and fly right (third-person singular simple present straightens up and flies right, present participle straightening up and flying right, simple past straightened up and flew right, past participle straightened up and flown right)

1. (colloquial) To start behaving properly; get one's act together.

   Synonym: get right

   • 1973, United States, Foreign assistance and related agencies appropriations for 1974, hearings [...], 93-1, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and Related Agencies [...]‎^[1], →OCLC, page 801:

     Now, we are going to straighten up and fly right is what was said. Well, we didn't straighten up and fly right. We continued our wild spending at home and abroad.

Translations

to start behaving properly; get one's act together

• Finnish: ryhdistäytyä (fi)
• French: se ranger des voitures (fr)
• German: sich zusammenreißen (de)
• Polish: poważnieć impf, spoważnieć pf

See also

• straight and narrow
• wake up and die right