"sail close to the wind" meaning in English

See sail close to the wind in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /seɪl ˈkləʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/ [Received-Pronunciation], /seɪl ˈkloʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/ [General-American] Audio: En-au-sail close to the wind.ogg Forms: 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]
Rhymes: -ɪnd Etymology: 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. Etymology templates: {{langname|en}} English, {{senseno|en|figurative|uc=1}} Sense 2 Head templates: {{en-verb|*|head=sail close to the wind}} sail close to the wind (third-person singular simple present sails close to the wind, present participle sailing close to the wind, simple past and past participle sailed close to the wind), {{term-label|en|intransitive}} (intransitive)
  1. (nautical) To sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing, while still making headway. Tags: intransitive Categories (topical): Nautical Related terms: close to the wind [adjective, adverb], close-hauled, tack Translations (to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing): kryssiä [slang] (Finnish), luovia (Finnish), πιτσυλίζω (pitsylízo) (Greek), ngongo (Maori), bolinar (Portuguese), идти́ о́стрым ку́рсом (idtí óstrym kúrsom) [imperfective] (Russian)
    Sense id: en-sail_close_to_the_wind-en-verb-en:literal Categories (other): English predicates Disambiguation of English predicates: 46 54 Topics: nautical, transport Disambiguation of 'to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing': 93 7
  2. (figurative) To behave in a manner that is on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper. Tags: figuratively, intransitive Translations (to behave in a manner on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper): luovia (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-sail_close_to_the_wind-en-verb-en:figurative Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English predicates, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Maori translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 39 61 Disambiguation of English predicates: 46 54 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 40 60 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 39 61 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 38 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 39 61 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 38 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Maori translations: 39 61 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 40 60 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 40 60 Disambiguation of 'to behave in a manner on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper': 11 89

Inflected forms

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          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
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          "text": "A vessel sails close to the wind, when her head is just so near the wind as to fill the sails without shaking them.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
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          "ref": "1894, Julian Hawthorne, James Schouler, E[lisha] Benjamin Andrews, “Second Administration of James Madison”, in United States from the Discovery of the North American Continent up to the Present Time […] (World’s Best Histories), volume III, New York, N.Y.; London: The Co-operative Publication Society, →OCLC, section II (Period of Fourteenth Congress. March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817.), page 504:",
          "text": "American privateers were beautifully built, and modelled so as to facilitate escape rather than come into close quarters. […] Such a vessel could sail close to the wind or tack suddenly; one pivot gun of long range was carried amidships, and there were plenty of men on board.",
          "type": "quote"
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          "ref": "1949, Fred W. Ellis, “Explorations and Departure”, in Round Cape Horn in Sail, South Croydon, Surrey: The Blue Book Company, →OCLC, page 206:",
          "text": "We scudded blithely over the sea. It was the long-boat we had. She was well-built and sturdy and a good sailer; though sailing close to the wind, it was not strong enough to keel her over too far, besides, to stiffen her, we were all perched to windward.",
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          "ref": "2016, Graeme Henderson, “The Loss of HMS Sirius, Escort to the First Fleet, in 1790”, in Swallowed by the Sea: The Story of Australia’s Shipwrecks, Canberra, A.C.T.: NLA Publishing, →ISBN, page 56:",
          "text": "Because the Sirius had failed to tack, the wind had blown it backwards onto the reef: the result perhaps of an unexpected shift of the wind, a shoreward current, [Philip Gidley] King's failure to warn [John] Hunter about the current and a bold commander who sometimes sailed close to the wind.",
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        "To sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing, while still making headway."
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        [
          "close",
          "close#Adjective"
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        [
          "wind",
          "wind#Noun"
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          "blowing",
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        "(nautical) To sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing, while still making headway."
      ],
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        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
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            "adjective",
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          "_dis1": "95 5",
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          "_dis1": "93 7",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
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            "slang"
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          "word": "kryssiä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "93 7",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
          "word": "luovia"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "93 7",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "pitsylízo",
          "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
          "word": "πιτσυλίζω"
        },
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          "_dis1": "93 7",
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
          "word": "ngongo"
        },
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          "roman": "idtí óstrym kúrsom",
          "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
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        }
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          "ref": "1876, Geo[rge] P. Burnham, “How Reuben Downer Made and Saved It”, in A Hundred Thousand Dollars in Gold. How to Make It. […], Springfield, Mass.: W. J. Holland, →OCLC, page 198:",
          "text": "But he received only indifferent remuneration, in those days, and found himself to \"sail close to the wind,\" to meet his current expenses.",
          "type": "quote"
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          "ref": "1881 June, “The Present Aspect of Our Commercial Relations with France”, in The Nautical Magazine: A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs, volume L (New Series), number VI, London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., […]; J. D. Potter, […]; Kent & Co., […], →OCLC, page 430:",
          "text": "We have to bear in mind that the present Conventional Tariff sails close to wind as a protection for French industry, and that anything like a serious increase would amount to absolute prohibition.",
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          "ref": "1906 February 15, Richard Hancock, “A Note on the Araneæ around Yarmouth”, in W[illiam] L[ucas] Distant, editor, The Zoologist: A Monthly Journal of Natural History, volume X (4th Series), number 110 (number 776 overall), London: West, Newman & Co. […]; Simpkin, Marshall & Co., →OCLC, page 60:",
          "text": "[A]ll naturalists have sometimes to sail close to the wind to obtain specimens for their cabinets.",
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          "ref": "2008, Victor Hugo, “Louis-Philippe”, in Julie Rose, transl., Les Misérables, London: Vintage Books, →ISBN, part 4 (The Idyll of the Rue Plumet and the Epic of the Rue Saint-Denis), book 1 (A Few Pages of History), page 682:",
          "text": "Louis-Philippe was a rare man. […] [A] savvy statesman, cold inside, ruled by the immediate interest, always sailing close to the wind, incapable of rancour or gratitude, pitilessly wearing out his superiority on mediocrities, skilled at proving wrong through parliamentary majorities, those mysterious unanimities that grumble quietly beneath thrones; […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 May 28, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 0 – 1 Real Madrid: Champions League Defeat Caps Miserable End to Magnificent Season amid Paris Chaos”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2023-05-26:",
          "text": "Real have sailed close to the wind in the Champions League this season, most notably when they needed two goals to survive against Manchester City in the semi-final with 90 minutes gone.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
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        "To behave in a manner that is on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper."
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        "(figurative) To behave in a manner that is on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper."
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          "_dis1": "11 89",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to behave in a manner on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper",
          "word": "luovia"
        }
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      "ipa": "/seɪl ˈkloʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/",
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        "General-American"
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    },
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    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪnd"
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  ],
  "word": "sail close to the wind"
}
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      "word": "close to the wind"
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        {
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          "text": "We scudded blithely over the sea. It was the long-boat we had. She was well-built and sturdy and a good sailer; though sailing close to the wind, it was not strong enough to keel her over too far, besides, to stiffen her, we were all perched to windward.",
          "type": "quote"
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          "text": "Because the Sirius had failed to tack, the wind had blown it backwards onto the reef: the result perhaps of an unexpected shift of the wind, a shoreward current, [Philip Gidley] King's failure to warn [John] Hunter about the current and a bold commander who sometimes sailed close to the wind.",
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        "To sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing, while still making headway."
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        "(nautical) To sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing, while still making headway."
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          "text": "But he received only indifferent remuneration, in those days, and found himself to \"sail close to the wind,\" to meet his current expenses.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1881 June, “The Present Aspect of Our Commercial Relations with France”, in The Nautical Magazine: A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs, volume L (New Series), number VI, London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., […]; J. D. Potter, […]; Kent & Co., […], →OCLC, page 430:",
          "text": "We have to bear in mind that the present Conventional Tariff sails close to wind as a protection for French industry, and that anything like a serious increase would amount to absolute prohibition.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1906 February 15, Richard Hancock, “A Note on the Araneæ around Yarmouth”, in W[illiam] L[ucas] Distant, editor, The Zoologist: A Monthly Journal of Natural History, volume X (4th Series), number 110 (number 776 overall), London: West, Newman & Co. […]; Simpkin, Marshall & Co., →OCLC, page 60:",
          "text": "[A]ll naturalists have sometimes to sail close to the wind to obtain specimens for their cabinets.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Victor Hugo, “Louis-Philippe”, in Julie Rose, transl., Les Misérables, London: Vintage Books, →ISBN, part 4 (The Idyll of the Rue Plumet and the Epic of the Rue Saint-Denis), book 1 (A Few Pages of History), page 682:",
          "text": "Louis-Philippe was a rare man. […] [A] savvy statesman, cold inside, ruled by the immediate interest, always sailing close to the wind, incapable of rancour or gratitude, pitilessly wearing out his superiority on mediocrities, skilled at proving wrong through parliamentary majorities, those mysterious unanimities that grumble quietly beneath thrones; […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 May 28, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 0 – 1 Real Madrid: Champions League Defeat Caps Miserable End to Magnificent Season amid Paris Chaos”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2023-05-26:",
          "text": "Real have sailed close to the wind in the Champions League this season, most notably when they needed two goals to survive against Manchester City in the semi-final with 90 minutes gone.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To behave in a manner that is on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "behave",
          "behave"
        ],
        [
          "manner",
          "manner#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "on the verge of",
          "on the verge of"
        ],
        [
          "dangerous",
          "dangerous"
        ],
        [
          "illegal",
          "illegal#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "improper",
          "improper#Adjective"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) To behave in a manner that is on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:figurative"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/seɪl ˈkləʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/seɪl ˈkloʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-sail close to the wind.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/49/En-au-sail_close_to_the_wind.ogg/En-au-sail_close_to_the_wind.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/En-au-sail_close_to_the_wind.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪnd"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "word": "kryssiä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
      "word": "luovia"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "pitsylízo",
      "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
      "word": "πιτσυλίζω"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
      "word": "ngongo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
      "word": "bolinar"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "idtí óstrym kúrsom",
      "sense": "to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "идти́ о́стрым ку́рсом"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to behave in a manner on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper",
      "word": "luovia"
    }
  ],
  "word": "sail close to the wind"
}

Download raw JSONL data for sail close to the wind meaning in English (9.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.