off keel
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.19 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep_phrase
Out of balance, tilting to one side. (of a watercraft, etc.)
prep_phrase
Out of control, not proceeding or running smoothly.
Example Sentences
- "1896, William Sharp, Boston: Lamson, Wolffe & Col, Chapter 4, p. 78, The tide was full and the dingey was off keel. The punt nosed the pebbly slope like a terrier, but her stern swung clear."
- "[…] at the finish the boat is moving faster, and the blade must be taken out more sharply if it is to avoid pulling the boat off keel."
- "At any rate, Gull had done a hurried repair job on the ship, for it was traveling with the labored toil of an old man walking uphill. It was off-keel. The body of the ship leaned at an angle to the line of flight."
- "The lower half of a duplex apartment on a shabby Montreal street, dark as limbo, jerry-built fifty years ago and going off keel ever since."
- "I’ve learned the lesson that the worst thing that can happen to a gambler is to let his recent losses or wins knock him off keel emotionally."
- "Attorney General John D. Ashcroft provided an update to the group on his efforts to develop a legislative package to expand the powers of law enforcement to fight terrorism. He outlined a two-phase strategy, aimed first at “immediate disruption and prevention of terrorism” and followed by longer-term efforts to put terrorists “off keel.”"
Etymology
From off + keel.