This week’s theme
Words having nautical origins

This week’s words
trimmer
bilge
nauseate
keel
by and large

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(by uhn LARJ)

MEANING:

adverb: In general; on the whole.

ETYMOLOGY:

From the world of sailing, describing a ship that could sail well in almost all wind conditions. Earliest documented use: 1669.

NOTES:

This phrase has its roots... or should we say, its anchor... in the world of sailing. It originally described a ship that was highly maneuverable. To simplify things a bit, such a ship that could sail well both:
By the wind: Sailing into the wind (a tricky maneuver). Think of this as the ship handling the headwinds of life.
Large: Sailing with the wind at its back (much easier!). This is the smooth sailing part. Large here means unrestricted, as in at large.
So, a ship that was good by and large could handle pretty much any wind condition. It was the all-terrain vehicle of the 17th-century seas!

USAGE:

“‘Where my life is at the moment, it’s very difficult to do comedy about -- because by and large I’m happy. And nobody really wants to hear about that,’ [Hannah Gadsby] says with a laugh. ‘People love misery.’”
Kerrie O’Brien; The Great Gadsby Takes on the World, Again; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Aug 27, 2022.

See more usage examples of by and large in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: