land legs

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of land legs¹

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

The vertebrates that did venture on land were still getting their land legs.

From New York Times

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

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

She feels dizzy and disoriented, can’t eat and can’t find her land legs.

From Washington Post