plain-sailing

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology

plain-sailing simple or easy course of action. XIX. pop. use (assoc. with the adj. PLAIN) of plane (†plain) sailing (XVII), i.e. navigation by a plane chart (XVII), on which the meridians and parallels are represented by equidistant straight lines (a method approximately correct for short distances).

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© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996.

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