broad in the beam
1
7.9
- idiom
:
ancho de manga
- The new design for the yacht featured a hull that was broad in the beam, providing extra stability while sailing.
Examples
-
The boat was stable because it was broad in the beam, allowing for better handling in rough waters.
-
These knarrs were broader in the beam than the one my uncle took on his expeditions north for walrus, seabirds, and whales.
Fiction book (1993) -
She was fun and jolly, with a body that was quite broad in the beam, which made her the life of the party.
Synonyms
Wide across the middle, especially when talking about boats
Having a wide frame like a boat or sofa that is stable
Antonyms
How Wide
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'broad' (wide) combined with the locative phrase 'in the beam' (the ship's breadth) yields a directly compositional meaning: wide with respect to the vessel's beam. If a B1 learner knows the nautical sense of 'beam' this follows standard English composition and is immediately interpretable, though learners who only know other senses of 'beam' (light, structural member) might initially be uncertain.
Etymology
Broad in the beam comes from old boat talk. A boat's beam is its width, so a boat that is broad in the beam is wide and very steady on the water. That's why today the phrase means 'wide' and is sometimes used jokingly about a person's hips or body.