sea legs

American  

plural noun

1. the ability to adjust one's sense of balance to the motion of a ship at sea.

   He stumbled about the deck for three days before getting his sea legs.

2. the ability to remain free of seasickness.

3. surimi.

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sea legs British  

plural noun

1. the ability to maintain one's balance on board ship, esp in rough weather

2. the ability to resist seasickness, esp in rough weather

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sea legs Cultural  

1. To “have one's sea legs” is to be able to walk calmly and steadily on a tossing ship, or to become accustomed to a new or strange situation: “Even though Kimberly just joined the company, she's got her sea legs in a hurry.”

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sea legs Idioms  

1. The ability to adjust to a new situation or difficult conditions, as in She's only spoken in public a few times; she hasn't found her sea legs yet. This expression was first recorded in 1712 and then referred to, as it still does, the ability to walk steadily on board ship, especially in rough seas. By the late 1800s it was being transferred to other challenging situations.

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Etymology

Origin of sea legs

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

“The party, more broadly, got their sea legs back, and they’re winning,” Newsom said.

From Los Angeles Times

“There was a real storm coming in, so we started with lovely blue skies that actually grew dark, with real rain mixing with our rain towers. We only shot in the rain once — the actors’ costumes got so heavy when wet, but it had an effect as if they had steadied their sea legs in the storm.”

From Los Angeles Times

Simon made a comic show of being capsized, but as he had often proved, he had sea legs enough to weather storms far worse than this.

From Literature

By the third day she had gotten her sea legs, which meant she felt queasy only part of the time.

From Literature

Her hard landing made the branch sway to and fro, but she had sea legs enough to manage it, after all the traveling she had done.

From Literature