Fill in the Blank: Sailing-Derived Idioms

Fill in the missing words in these common English phrases that originated in sailing

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Last updated: January 20, 2026

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First submitted	January 20, 2026
Times taken	18
Average score	44.1%
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Hint	Answer
Legitimate, honest, and open	Above board
A phrase of resignation to monotonous work	Another day, another dollar
Most direct path between two points	As the crow flies
"Finish your drink"	Bottoms up
In general	By and large
A fresh start or an absence of commitments	Clean slate
A person's appearance, style, or personality	Cut of your jib
Crammed to capacity	Chock-a-block
Functioning normally after a period of difficulty	On an even keel
Top quality	First rate
Able to travel freely and do as one pleases; not confined by responsibilities	Footloose
Dazed or sluggish feeling	Groggy
Very rapidly (e.g. "making money ___ over ___")	Hand over fist
Fixed and definitive (e.g. " ___ and ___ rules")	Hard and fast
Left in a difficult position, especially without resources	High and dry
An unpredictable or uncontrolled person who is likely to cause unintentional damage	Loose cannon
A crucial or key part of something	Mainstay
Trying to control other people in an unpleasant way	Overbearing
To completely change a system so that it works more effectively	Overhaul
Trying to do more than is possible (e.g. "government over__")	Overreach
Overcome; inundate	Overwhelm
"Be quiet!"	Pipe down
Reveal one's real character or intentions, especially when disreputable or dishonorable	Show one's true colors
Teach someone the basics of a new job, task, or activity	Show the ropes
A very tall building	Skyscraper
A fund or account used for miscellaneous income and expenses, particularly for corrupt or illegal purposes	Slush fund
Organized; put in order	Squared away
To support or enable to survive temporarily, especially with money or food	Tide over
Accept the authority, principles, or policies of a particular group	Toe the line
(of an outcome, especially one that is desired) possible but very uncertain	Touch and go
Pretend not to notice	Turn a blind eye
Slightly ill	Under the weather
A piece of unexpected good fortune, typically a large sum of money	Windfall
Used to say that one will continue doing something until it is finished, no matter what	...to the bitter end