taut

I was drawn to The Class for different reasons—chiefly, the pipe dream of achieving a tighter and tauter backside.

Every step it became tauter and tauter, until at last you might have played a tune upon it.

Stays and braces grew tauter and tauter, studden sail-booms cracked, and the topgallant masts bent like willow wands.

The rope was clearly getting “tauter”; discipline was gradually assuming its sway, the circles around me smaller and smaller.