| 释义 |
plane sailing
In 7–8 plain s.
[f. plane n.3, formerly plain.]
In Navigation, The art of determining a ship's place on the theory that she is moving on a plane, or that the surface of the earth is plane instead of spherical; navigation by a plane chart: see plane a. 3.
This is a simple and easy method, approximately correct for short distances, esp. near the equator.
1699W. Dampier Voy. II. i. 90, 2 Dollars..which I had gotten..by teaching some of our young Seamen Plain Sailing. 1756Rolt Dict. Trade, Plain Sailing, in navigation, is the art of working the several cases and varieties in a ship's motion on a plain chart. 1815Burney Falconer's Dict. Marine, Plane Sailing..is that which is performed by means of a plane chart; in which case, the meridians are considered as parallel lines, the parallels of latitude are at right angles to the meridians, the lengths of the degrees on the meridians, equator, and parallels of latitude, are every where equal. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Plane-sailing, that part of navigation which treats a ship's course as an angle, and the distance, difference of latitude, and easting or westing, as the sides of a right-angled triangle. The easting or westing is called departure. 1890Cent. Dict. s.v., In plane-sailing, the principal terms made use of are the course, distance, departure, and difference of latitude, any two of which being given the others can be found.
b. fig. A course so simple as to leave no room for mistakes. In this sense now commonly spelt plain sailing, q.v.
1858Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. Part. I. liv. 212 The motion at first looks as if it was all what sailors call plane sailing. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v., Plane-sailing is so simple that it is colloquially used to express anything so easy that it is impossible to make a mistake. |