frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

pretty or fine kettle of fish, US box: We shall be in dire
straits if father's cheque doesn't come soon.
straitened
adj. inadequate, insufficient, reduced, oppressed, distressed,
needy, necessitous, poor, poverty-stricken, indigent,
impoverished, destitute, penniless, insolvent, Colloq hard up,
US strapped: As a writer, he was accustomed to living in
straitened circumstances between sales of his stories.
strait-laced
adj. priggish, prim, conservative, old-fashioned, Victorian,
old-maidish, proper, prudish, puritanical, moralistic, strict,
narrow-minded, (over-)scrupulous, fussy, Colloq pernickety or US
also persnickety, stuffy, goody-goody: Her aunt has the
strait-laced notion that girls ought to be home by ten o'clock.
strange adj. 1 odd, peculiar, bizarre, weird, curious, uncommon,
unusual, rare, singular, exceptional, eccentric, weird, funny,
quaint, fantastic, out of the ordinary, extraordinary,
out-of-the-way, queer, outlandish, unheard-of, grotesque,
abnormal, remarkable, surprising, inexplicable, unaccountable,
uncanny, Colloq offbeat, far-out, Slang kinky, Brit rum, US
kooky: I had a strange dream last night. 2 unfamiliar,
unknown, unaccustomed: The children were warned not to get into
strange cars. She was overwhelmed by the strange culture of her
husband's country.
stranger n. foreigner, outlander, alien, newcomer, visitor: The people
in these parts don't take kindly to strangers.
stratagem n. trick, artifice, device, dodge, subterfuge, lure, wile,
ruse, plan, scheme, plot, intrigue, manoeuvre, ploy, tactic:
What stratagem did they use to tempt you to attend this boring
affair?
strategic adj. tactical, key, crucial, principal, cardinal, critical,
vital, key: That line of supply is of strategic importance.
Sending in the landing force was a strategic manoeuvre.
strategy n. plan, tactic(s), design, policy, procedure, scheme,
blueprint, Colloq game or master plan, scenario: The enemy's
strategy calls for quick air strikes by low-flying bombers.