sheet anchor
Americannoun
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Nautical. a large anchor used only in cases of emergency.
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a final reliance or resource, as when in danger.
noun
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nautical a large strong anchor for use in emergency
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a person or thing to be relied upon in an emergency
Etymology
Origin of sheet anchor
First recorded in 1485–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet, Jane — Tomalin calls her “the true heroine of this story” — remained the sheet anchor of his life, as well as his typist.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 2, 2021
In summer he manages his two dairy farms, calls them "a sheet anchor against inflation."
From Time Magazine Archive
For a time he followed the business of making anchors for vessels but was soon called to the more important work of aiding in the construction of the sheet anchor of freedom.
From Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution by L. Carroll Judson
Anybody but Esther Tidditt, that is; she's down on him like a sheet anchor on a crab.
From Fair Harbor by Joseph Crosby Lincoln
This remembrance and impression is the sheet anchor of his steadfastness.
From The Portland Sketch Book by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
