Word.ws English Dictionary

straight-face test

straight-face test noun: a tongue-in-cheek test of the merits of an argument which asks whether it can be made with a straight face (without laughing).

Noun

straight-face test (plural straight-face tests)

  1. (idiomatic) A tongue-in-cheek test of the merits of an argument which asks whether it can be made with a straight face (without laughing).
    • As such, her [Nancy Pelosi's] effort to distance herself from the CIA's conceit on torture should not be surprising or cause for outrage. To presume the benefit of the doubt with the CIA after countless destroyed interrogation tapes doesn't even pass the straight face test.2009 June 26, John Wellington Ennis, “Picking on Pelosi”, in HuffPost, archived from the original on 19 Apr 2023
    • A system of regulation might easily include requiring you to pay taxes if you choose to burden commerce; willful refusal to maintain adequate health coverage for yourself and your family is such a burden. To claim otherwise doesn't pass the straight-face test.2010 December 30, Garrett Epps, “Health Care Suits: Separating Law From Spin”, in The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Feb 2023

Synonyms of straight-face test

Forms of straight-face test

pluralstraight-face tests
alternative formstraight face test

Questions about straight-face test

What does straight-face test mean?
Straight-face test means a tongue-in-cheek test of the merits of an argument which asks whether it can be made with a straight face (without laughing).
What part of speech is straight-face test?
Straight-face test is a noun.
What is the plural of straight-face test?
The plural of straight-face test is straight-face tests.

Words near straight-face test in the dictionary

  1. straight-cut
  2. straight-edger
  3. straight-edgers
  4. straight-eight
  5. straight-eights
  6. straight-face test
  7. straight-face tests
  8. straight-faced
  9. straight-forward
  10. straight-from-the-shoulder
  11. straight-hearted

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: straight-face test (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “straight-face test.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/straight-face_test. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.