straight goods

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

straight goods pl (plural only)

1. (idiomatic, often preceded by the) The truth; the facts.
   • 1900, Sandburrs, Alfred Henry Lewis, p. 188 (Google books):

     "[I]n me yout' I was d' star poople of d' Sunday school dey opens long ago at d' Five Points. That's straight goods, see!"

   • 1975, Matt Braun, Bloody Hand, →ISBN, page 31:

     All the same, where did the straight goods leave off and the horseshit begin?

   • 2011 September 2, Michael Barbaro, “Bloomberg Is Chastised Over Silence on Deputy”, in New York Times, retrieved 1 May 2016:

     The News wrote that the mayor “let loyalty get the better of his duty to provide the public with straight goods.”

   • 2015 January 12, Royson James, “Let’s clear our heads and rethink this transit mess”, in The Star, Toronto, Canada, retrieved 1 May 2016:

     Over three decades of writing about transit in the Toronto region has landed me in a stupor, unable to give readers the straight goods on our transit needs.

2. (idiomatic, often preceded by the) Someone or something authentic.
   • 1994 May 10, Guy Gugliotta, “Capital Notebook”, in Washington Post, retrieved 1 May 2016:

     Is she the straight goods, or is she a gold digger trying to con him?

   • 2003 October 31, R. M. Campbell, “Ensemble is sheer artistry, pure and simple”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 1 May 2016:

     There is no hype about the musicians, no fancy dress, no gimmick to catch the wandering eye. They are simply the straight goods—trenchant musicianship and first-rate ensemble.