plane sailing

English

Etymology

From plane (adjective) +‎ sailing (noun), a variant of plain sailing probably by analogy with plane chart (“(nautical) chart representing the earth in which lines of latitude and longitude are respectively shown as parallel straight lines”) or plane scale (“(chiefly nautical, obsolete) scale or ruler with markings used for calculations, especially for navigation”).^[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˌpleɪn ˈseɪlɪŋ/
Audio (GA): (file)
Homophone: plain sailing
Rhymes: -eɪlɪŋ
Hyphenation: plane sail‧ing

Noun

plane sailing (uncountable)

(nautical) A technique for navigation using the assumption that the journey occurs over a plane or flat surface rather than the actual curved surface of the Earth, which is sufficiently accurate over short distances.
- 1699, William Dampier, “Some Vessels Sent from Cachao to Tenan to Fetch Rice. […]”, in Voyages and Descriptions. Vol. II. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, part I (His Voyage from Achin in Sumatra, to Tonquin, […]), page 90:
  […] I hired a Tonquineſe for about a Dollar to be my guide. This, tho but a ſmall matter, vvas a great deal out of my Pocket, vvho had not above 2 Dollars in all, vvhich I had gotten on board, by teaching ſome of our young Seamen Plain Sailing.
- 1735, Benjamin Martin, “The Use of Decimals in Plain Trigonometry, and Other Mathmatical Sciences Depending thereon”, in A New Compleat and Universal System or Body of Decimal Arithmetick, […], London: […] J[ohn] Noon, […], →OCLC, page 322:
  […] Me[r]cator's Sailing gives the correct Difference of Latitude and Longitude both; Middle Latitude Sailing, only the correct Difference of Longitude; Plain Sailing gives neither correctly; and therefore their Merits are in Proportion.
- 1760 January – 1761 December, [Tobias George Smollett], “In which the Knight Resumes His Importance”, in The Life and Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves. […], Dublin: […] James Hoey, junior, published 1762, →OCLC, page 78:
  I doubt as hovv I've ſteered by a vvrong chart, d'ye ſee—as for the matter of the ſciences, to be ſure, I knovv plain ſailing and mercator; and am an indifferent good ſeaman, […]
- 1809 June 25, Lord Byron, “Letter XXXV. To Mr. Henry Drury.”, in Thomas Moore, editor, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: With Notices of His Life, […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], published 1830, →OCLC, page 188:
  [W]e have determined to go by way of Lisbon, […] and so on our old route to Malta and Constantinople, if so be that Captain Kidd, our gallant commander, understands plain sailing and Mercator and takes us on our voyage all according to the chart.
(figurative, archaic) Alternative spelling of plain sailing (“navigation of waters free from hazards or unfavourable winds; (figurative) something that is easy, simple, or straightforward”)
- 1850, Henry T[heodore] Cheever, “Raising and Cutting-in Whales”, in The Whale and His Captors; or, The Whaleman’s Adventures, and the Whale’s Biography, […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 58:
  After this [the whale's tongue] was hoisted in, the rest of the way was plane sailing, the blubber of the body being cut and peeled off, in huge unbroken strips, as the carcass rolled over and over, being heaved on by the windlass, then hooked into by the blubber hooks, and hoisted in by the men all the time heaving at the windlass.

Alternative forms

(navigation technique): plain sailing (obsolete)

Translations

technique for navigation using the assumption that the journey occurs over a plane or flat surface

Finnish: navigointi tasossa
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

References

^ “plane sailing, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “plane sailing, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.