Meaning
To destroy someone's advantage, confidence, or momentum, usually by saying or doing something unexpected. Typically used when a well-timed objection, revelation, or counter-announcement deflates an argument or leaves a rival becalmed, as in 'that took the wind out of her sails'. Informal to neutral; it describes deflation of momentum or confidence, not physical breathlessness (compare 'the wind knocked out of you'). Regional use: General English.
Origin
The image is maritime rather than specifically naval: a vessel that places itself between another and the wind leaves the second ship's sails empty and unable to make headway. The Online Etymology Dictionary dates the figurative use to 1888, quoting a contemporary encyclopedic dictionary that explains the effect 'as by one vessel sailing between the wind and another vessel' (the same dictionary's entry under 'windward' gives 'by 1883'). Royal Museums Greenwich lists the phrase among everyday expressions with genuine seafaring roots, glossing the modern sense as discouraging or demotivating someone, and The Phrase Finder confirms that 'take the wind out of someone's sails' is the standard form.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- have the wind taken out of your sails
- knock the wind out of someone's sails
- take the wind out of his sails
Usage Examples
- The intern's careful data took the wind out of the director's argument for cancelling the project.
- Just as the campaign launched, a rival's announcement took the wind out of its sails.
- Praise from her harshest critic took the wind out of her sails in the best possible way.