The nanotube is a straight line with almost no depth or width.

FORBES: IBM Makes Molecule-Sized Light

But after eight or nine years he can start the parole hearing process - straight away, it almost seems to us.

BBC: Last Updated: Friday, 9 March 2007, 11:50 GMT

Over the 80 or so quarters he was in charge, GE's profits grew so consistently they were almost a straight line.

ECONOMIST: Online, straight from the gut and politically incorrect