have the wind in one's sails
Meaning: To be doing well and moving forward with confidence and momentum.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “After winning the first primary, the candidate has the wind in her sails.”
Category: Nature
Origin: From sailing: with the wind filling its sails, a boat surges ahead without effort from the crew. Several European languages share the image.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Avoir le vent en poupe — literally: To have the wind at the stern
More idioms — Nature
- add fuel to the fire — To make a bad situation worse.
- have stars in one's eyes — To be dazzled or dreamily idealistic, especially about love or fame.
- hit a snag — To run into an unexpected problem.
- rise from the ashes — To be reborn or rebuilt after destruction or failure.
- shed light on — To help explain something or make it clearer.
- blow a gale — Of the wind: to blow extremely hard.
More English idioms
- put one's foot in it — To say something tactless or embarrassing.
- talk behind someone's back — To say unkind things about someone when they are not present.
- have pins and needles — To feel a prickling, tingling sensation in a limb that has gone numb.
- be on pins and needles — To be very anxious while waiting for something.
- make a killing — To make a lot of money quickly.
- worm something out of someone — To get information from someone gradually and persistently.
From our untranslatable words
- Sprezzatura — The art of making something difficult look wholly effortless, hiding every trace of the w…
- Dietrologia — The conviction that the official account is never the real one — that some hidden motive…
- Attaccabottoni — The person who corners you and holds you in an endless, tedious story you cannot politely…