ship of state
3
6.9
- noun
- Literature
:
gobierno
- The recent elections have changed the direction of the ship of state dramatically.
Examples
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We cannot afford four more years of Republican grifters lining their pockets while the ship of state drifts into another crisis.
Blog text (15) -
Obama—he is wise, intelligent, gracious, humorous, thoughtful, and even-keeled to handle this ship of state with dignity and diplomacy.
Blog text (12) -
Many Americans viewed this past election as America's last, best chance to at least try to right the ship of state.
Blog text (23) -
Astonished at its own sudden unsteadiness, the ship of state began at once to right itself.
Fiction book (1992) -
Politicians drive the ship of state by looking rearward and reacting to the world not so much as it is, but as it was.
Academic text (1993) -
" It's a frightening, upside-down world with these clowns at the helm of the ship of state.
Blog text (1) -
Romney and Ryan might have had a chance to bail fast enough to keep the ship of state afloat, but she is going down for sure.
Blog text (24) -
But even more contentious and deemed liable to sink or at least rock the ship of state was the direct line he drew between European expansion, whether west or east, and despotism and slavery.
Academic text (2000) -
The new leader aims to steer the ship of state toward prosperity and stability.
-
In times of crisis, it's crucial to have wise guidance for the ship of state.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
The group of people who officially run a country
How Stable
Surface Forms
Morphology
ship + of + state
The phrase relies on a simple metaphor mapping a 'ship' onto a 'state', so a learner who knows 'ship' and 'state' can likely infer it refers to the country being steered or governed. However, the conventionalized rhetorical sense referring specifically to government or political leadership and its normative implications (needing wise guidance) is somewhat metaphorical and culturally conventionalized, so the exact meaning may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrase ship of state comes from an old image that compares a ship to the state: leaders are like the captain who must steer the ship safely. That's why it now means 'a country's government' and shows it needs wise guidance to stay steady.