lost and at sea
- idiom
- Informal
:
perdido y a la deriva
- Whenever I try to follow that conversation, I'm completely lost and at sea.
Examples
-
She was lost and at sea during her first week at university.
-
After reading the instructions, he still felt lost and at sea.
-
I feel lost and at sea.
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He looked lost and at sea.
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After starting a new job, he felt lost and at sea without any guidance.
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During the complex project discussion, I was lost and at sea trying to keep up.
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On her first day in a foreign country, she was completely lost and at sea.
Synonyms
28
4.2
Not knowing what to do or say
23
5.6
Not having a clear direction or purpose
9
6.8
Confused and not sure what to do
6
1.0
Confused and unsure what to do or where to go
2
7.2
Feeling unsure what to do and not busy
Antonyms
How Confused
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'lost' directly conveys confusion, but the segment 'at sea' is a metaphorical idiom whose meaning ('confused, unsure') is not fully predictable from the literal meanings of 'at' + 'sea'. Because the overall meaning can often be inferred (especially given 'lost') but relies on an idiomatic metaphorical phrase, the expression is partially transparent rather than fully compositional.
Etymology
The idiom lost and at sea comes from the image of a sailor on a ship with no land in sight and no clear way to steer, so they feel helpless and unsure where to go. That's why it now means 'feeling confused and unsure what to do'.