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sail close to the wind

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
sail close to the wind
to do something that is dangerous or only just legal or acceptable
Usage notes: (often in continuous tenses)
I think she realized she was sailing a little too close to the wind and decided to tone down her criticism.
See also: close, sail, wind

sail close to the wind
to take risks We thought she was sailing a bit close to the wind in her business deals, but she claimed everything was legal.
Usage notes: often refers to doing something that may not be legal or acceptable
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of sail close to the wind (to sail a boat as near as possible to the direction the wind is coming from)
See also: close, sail, wind


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