sail close to the wind

Idioms  

1. Be on the verge of doing something illegal or improper, as in She was sailing pretty close to the wind when she called him a liar. This term alludes to the danger incurred when literally sailing too close to (that is, in the direction of) the wind. Its figurative use dates from the first half of the 1800s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sail close to the wind

Fox, who hosts a weekly show on GB News and made the remarks while appearing as a contributor on Wootton's programme on Tuesday, does usually "sail close to the wind", the chief executive said.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2023

Of course, politicians, like most humans, at times sail close to the wind, and sometimes for understandable reasons – personal, security, confidentiality.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 31, 2016

The wind was very unfavorable to a craft that was unable to sail close to the wind.

From A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Verne, Jules

The idea of hiring a boat without seeing it, and not caring to have it to sail close to the wind!

From St. Nicholas v. 13 No. 9 July 1886 an Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks by Various

In fact the Comédie may remind some of the old nautical laudation of a ship which cannot only sail close to the wind, but even a point or two on the other side of it.

From A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century by Saintsbury, George