close to the wind
- idiom
:
ir al límite
- She always tries to stay close to the wind legally, balancing risk and legality in her investments.
- sailing close to the wind
Examples
-
His business practices often sail close to the wind, raising eyebrows in the industry.
-
l have been sailing a bit close to the wind.
-
You're sailing close to the wind, Billy.
-
But as I hear tell, you've sailed pretty close to the wind on occasion.
Fiction book (1990) -
The politician's comments were seen as sailing close to the wind, flirting with controversy without crossing the line.
Synonyms
20
6.2
In danger of getting into trouble for something you did
1
8.1
To do something risky that almost breaks rules or laws
Antonyms
How Risky
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is an idiomatic, nautical metaphor: knowing the literal words 'close' and 'wind' does not transparently yield the sense ‘taking risky or borderline action’. The figurative meaning depends on cultural/figurative knowledge of sailing and is not compositionally predictable, so a B1 learner would unlikely infer it without prior exposure.
Etymology
Close to the wind uses the same sailing picture: a boat that stays very close to the wind can go faster but risks losing control. So the phrase now means doing something that is 'risky' or just inside what is allowed.