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

They have therefore but small hold on the water; they do not sail close to the wind, and beating home against it is a long wearisome job.

From A Poor Man's House by Stephen Sydney Reynolds

It would then be necessary to sail close to the wind!

From Dick Sand A Captain at Fifteen by Jules Verne

On the 31st of May, the wind being East and E.S.E., with a top-gallant gale, they set sail close to the wind on a southerly course.

From The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606-1765 by J. E. (Jan Ernst) Heeres