lee shore

noun

1. a shore toward which the wind blows.

Word History and Origins

Origin of lee shore¹

First recorded in 1570–80

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on a lee shore, in difficulty or danger.

Example Sentences

Separated in the storm from the rest of the flotilla, the Wager rounded Cape Horn at last but caught on a lee shore in another gale as its captain tumbled through a hatch, an accident that left a fractured bone protruding from his armpit.

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“No. A storm drove me on a lee shore, and I lost my anchor to windward.”

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“I hope so, son. But you’d better claw off that lee shore. You’ve lost your anchor to windward.”

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“The windward side of a ship is the side the wind’s coming from. The lee side is the other side of the ship. If a storm drives you toward land on your lee side, that’s about the most dangerous thing that can happen to you. Your ship has to ‘claw off’ that lee shore—fight against the storm.

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Once when accompanying me to the coast to visit one of my children, there was a heavy sea on, and the steamer, on approaching the pier, rolled alarmingly, and was close on a lee shore.

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