plain sailing
1
2.8
- idiom
- UK
:
sencillo
- Once you have the product, the rest is plain sailing.
Against lesser teams they do, but against the bigger teams, it's not always that plain sailing.
- Against lesser teams they do, but against the bigger teams, it's not always that plain sailing.
- So this isn't this isn't like plain sailing, Jay.
Examples
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However, it wasn't all plain sailing.
Blog text (29) -
Plain sailing, then.
-
Should be plain sailing from here on.
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Re: No one said it was going to be plain sailing...
Blog text (32) -
Get the CxO level on board, and it should be plain sailing, right?
Blog text (19) -
The raid wasn't plain sailing.
Blog text (7) -
Christianity, although an underlying part of my life for 20 years now, I can't say that it's been all plain sailing.
Blog text (5) -
Well, I can't say for sure, but, uh, Melissy Busteed got a hold of the information, and from there on, it's plain sailing.
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Once you start the project, it will be plain sailing from there onward.
-
Now that we have all the necessary supplies, it should be plain sailing for the rest of the journey.
Synonyms
51
1.0
Something very easy to do
45
3.4
An easy decision that needs little thought
33
2.1
An easy thing to do
16
2.7
An easy time with no problems
16
2.1
A task that is very easy to do
15
1.0
Very easy to do
4
1.7
Very easy to do with little skill
2
3.5
A time when things move forward easily and without problems
1
1.7
A situation that is not difficult and needs little effort
1
7.8
An easy task that needs little effort
Antonyms
How Easy
26
2.6
- UK
1
2.8
∞
1.0
51
1.8
183
4.4
∞
1.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'plain' (simple/clear) and 'sail' (move smoothly with little effort) together plausibly point to the idea of something being easy or without difficulty, so a learner who knows both words could guess the general sense. However, the meaning rests on a conventional nautical metaphor and a specific collocation ('plain sailing'), so it is not fully predictable without exposure and is therefore only partially transparent.
Etymology
The idiom plain sailing is a saying from old sailors. When the sea was flat and a ship moved easily, they called this plain sailing, so today it means 'easy' or 'without trouble'.