before the wind

Idioms  

1. Driven ahead, hurried, as in The bikers are moving before the wind, so it's hard to tell who will come in first. The literal meaning of this term is nautical, referring to a ship sailing in the same direction as the wind and being propelled forward. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s.

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Example Sentences

Or that few questioned her Ghana trip when she left on Saturday, before the wind warnings turned completely dire.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2025

Flames came within a kilometer of the Kemerkoy thermal power in the district of Milas late Tuesday before the wind changed direction, helping avert a crisis there for the moment.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2021

“It’s like I used to be on solid ground,” he says before the wind blows him away.

From Washington Post • Feb. 7, 2021

McNeil, wearing shades and still reorienting himself to the position after playing second and third last season, backpedaled before the wind blew the ball over his right shoulder.

From New York Times • Apr. 14, 2019

Part of that book, part of it, quick now, quick, before it gets away, before the shock wears off, before the wind dies.

From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury