sail close to the wind

动词 v.
中文释义
英 /seɪl ˈkləʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/    美 /seɪl ˈkloʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/

英文释义

动词 v.
  1. To sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing, while still making headway. intransitive
    — As the Syrene vvas ſeen to fall to leevvard in the afternoon, the ſignal vvas made to her to ſail as cloſe to the vvind as poſſible.
  2. To behave in a manner that is on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper. figuratively,intransitive
    — But he received only indifferent remuneration, in those days, and found himself to "sail close to the wind," to meet his current expenses.

词形变化

sails close to the wind present,singular,third-person sailing close to the wind participle,present sailed close to the wind participle,past sailed close to the wind past

词源

Sense 2 (“to behave in a manner on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper”) derives from the fact that to sail an old-fashioned sailing ship close to the direction the wind was blowing from was risky because a small change in the wind direction could fill the sails and push them against the mast, potentially breaking it.
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