Straight as a die

Woke up and went out to do the food shopping this morning. J wouldn't let me have a Star Wars Lego advent calendar, says I'm too old for that sort of thing now. Booo.
Came back and went to the cinema to get tickets for Gravity 3D tonight. Shocked at the price of a ticket now, but I think the last film we saw was the final Harry Potter.

From there it was into John Lewis to get a new rug for the dining room for Christmas and then to have a look at the cameras. Decision has been made. The replacement camera is going to be the Olympus OM-D M5. Everyone I spoke to says it’s the best camera for underwater and it seems to have all the functions we need for above water as well. In addition it has the best range of lenses.

Back home to listen to the England game on the radio while pottering around the house. Sounded like a great game to have watched.

This week’s theme is STRAIGHT. After the poor banker effort on Tuesday I have been thinking about a slightly different slant. Someone else has already blipped a straight hand of cards so I got thinking about sayings. Thought as straight as an arrow might be slightly difficult to do so settled for as STRAIGHT as a die. I would liked to have used the dice I bought in Vegas on my stag do as they are a bit bigger but I couldn't find them Will keep looking so this might change if I find them.

Definition of the saying below.

The phrase originated as 'as smooth as a die', no doubt referring to the smoothness of the bone that dice were made from. This dates back to at least the 16th century; for example, Jehan Palsgrave's Lesclarcissement de la langue françoyse, 1530:

"Make this borde as smothe as a dyce"

It migrated to 'as true as a die' in the 18th century, as found in John Gay's Songs & Ball., New Song on New Similies, 1732:

"You'll know me truer than a die."

By the 19th century it had become as we know it now - 'as straight as a die'. The first known record of that form comes from the USA, in The Janesville Gazette, April 1871:

"I'm a racing man and up to a thing or two: but am as straight as a die for honesty."

Despite their reputation for smooth/true/straightness, dice weren't always straight. Modern dice are now almost always made so that the opposite faces add up to seven and of a material that is of even density throughout. Some earlier 'crooked' dice (or as they would then have been called, dies) were weighted to favour particular numbers or may have had more than one face that showed the same number.