All 4 Uses of

strait

in

The Alchemist, by Coelho

Africa was only a few hours from Tarifa; one had only to cross the narrow straits by boat.
p. 21.4

straits = narrow water passage

If he sold just one of his sheep, he'd have enough to get to the other shore of the strait.
p. 28.7

The old man had spoken about signs and omens, and, as the boy was crossing the strait, he had thought about omens.
p. 37.7

He would at least have died after having crossed the strait, after having worked in a crystal shop, and after having known the silence of the desert and Fatima's eyes.
p. 112.5 *

Definitions:

(1) (strait as in: Strait of Hormuz)
a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water
(2) (strait as in: put her in a tough strait)
a bad or difficult situation
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
Less commonly, strait can mean narrow or cramped -- as used in the compound word straitjacket. Similarly, it can mean rigid as in strait-laced.

These words are sometimes spelled straight*, but strait is a different word than straight -- which has many meanings.