take the wind out of your sails

take the wind out of your sails
take the wind out of (your) sails to make you feel less confident or determined.

I was really mad at him, but he greeted me with flowers, which immediately took the wind out of my sails.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of take the wind out of someone's sails (= to slow down a competing boat by catching the wind in your own sails and preventing it from filling the other boat's sails)

New idioms dictionary. 2014.

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  • take the wind out of sails — take the wind out of (your) sails to make you feel less confident or determined. I was really mad at him, but he greeted me with flowers, which immediately took the wind out of my sails. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of take the wind… …   New idioms dictionary

  • take wind out of sails —    If someone or something takes the wind out of your sails, they make you feel less confident by doing or saying something that you do not expect.     The manger s rejection of our marketing strategy really took the wind out of our sails …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • wind — I AIR ♦♦ winds, winding, winded (Pronounced [[t]wɪ̱nd[/t]] in wind 1, and [[t]wa͟ɪnd[/t]] in wind 2.) 1) N VAR A wind is a current of air that is moving across the earth s surface. There was a strong wind blowing... Then the wind dropped and the… …   English dictionary

  • wind — wind1 W2S2 [wınd] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(air)¦ 2 get/have wind of something 3¦(breath)¦ 4¦(in your stomach)¦ 5 take the wind out of somebody s sails 6 see which way the wind is blowing 7 something is in the wind 8 winds of change/freedom/public opinion etc …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • wind — wind1 [ wınd ] noun *** 1. ) count or uncount a natural current of air that moves fast enough for you to feel it: A cold wind blew and the rain fell in torrents. We ll head back to the shore if the wind picks up (=gets stronger). The helicopter… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • wind — 1 /wInd/ noun 1 AIR (C, U) moving air, especially when it moves strongly or quickly in a current: a 70 mile an hour wind | branches swaying in the wind | the wind blows: A gentle wind was blowing through the trees. | strong/high winds: The… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • wind — I UK [wɪnd] / US noun Word forms wind : singular wind plural winds *** 1) [countable/uncountable] a natural current of air that moves fast enough for you to feel it A cold wind blew and the rain fell in torrents. We ll head back to the shore if… …   English dictionary

  • wind — 1. n. & v. n. 1 a air in more or less rapid natural motion, esp. from an area of high pressure to one of low pressure. b a current of wind blowing from a specified direction or otherwise defined (north wind; contrary wind). 2 a breath as needed… …   Useful english dictionary

  • wind — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) I v. twist, [en]twine; coil, curl, spiral; bandage, loop; enfold, in fold; wreathe, roll; crank, reel; sinuate, meander, wander. See convulsion, deviation, rotation. n. See wind. II Current of air Nouns… …   English dictionary for students

  • Sailing faster than the wind — Devices that are powered by sails (such as sailboats, iceboats and sand yachts) can sail (that is, advance over the surface) faster than the wind.[1] Such devices cannot do this when sailing dead downwind using simple square sails that are set… …   Wikipedia

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