英语词源
wind (take the wind out of someone’s sails )使某人泄气
take the wind out of someone’s sails指通过突然将某人置于劣势而削弱其自信心。如:
She really took the wind out of my sails by telling me she’d been offered the job — I thought they were going to give it to me.
当她告知我她获得这份工作时,我顿时泄了气——我原本以为,自己会得到这份工作。
该短语源自这样一种情况:一艘船距离另一艘处于上风侧的船过近时,后者会因为没有了风而无法前行。
——摘自《单词的历史:英语词源漫谈》