land legs

American  

plural noun

1. the ability to adjust one's sense of balance and motion to walking on land, as after a sea journey or flight.

   It took the astronauts some time to regain their land legs after the long space mission.

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Etymology

Origin of land legs

First recorded in 1870–75; on the model of sea legs

Example Sentences

River — it’s time to celebrate and get your land legs back.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 14, 2022

First, I was just a lad of 39 when I wrote the above-referenced op-ed; practically a baby, a spring chicken, a tadpole with little nubs of cynical land legs just beginning to show.

From Salon • Nov. 8, 2021

The others - the Brits, a Spaniard and a Portuguese - got visas for a month, allowing them to restock with fresh food and regain their land legs.

From BBC • May 30, 2020

Even when you’ve come back down, it takes a minute to find your land legs.

From New York Times • May 14, 2015

But it did not take him long to recover his land legs and appetite. 

From The Faith of Men by London, Jack