sea legs

sea legs

1. Literally, the ability to walk steadily on a moving ship. Don't worry, once you get your sea legs, you'll be able to walk around the deck no problem.
2. By extension, one's comfort level or familiarity with something. Of course you're scared, it's your first day of teaching! But you'll get your sea legs soon enough, don't worry.
See also: leg, sea
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*one's sea legs

Fig. one's ability to tolerate the movement of a ship at sea. (*Typically: get ~; have ~.) Jean was a little awkward on the cruise at first, but in a few days she got her sea legs and was fine. You may feel a little sick until you get your sea legs.
See also: leg, sea
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

sea legs

The ability to adjust to a new situation or difficult conditions, as in She's only spoken in public a few times; she hasn't found her sea legs yet. This expression was first recorded in 1712 and then referred to, as it still does, the ability to walk steadily on board ship, especially in rough seas. By the late 1800s it was being transferred to other challenging situations.
See also: leg, sea
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • one's sea legs
  • take a walk
  • walk together
  • walk it
  • walk somebody off their feet
  • walk someone off their feet
  • walk (one) off (one's) feet
  • walk (right) this way
  • walk-in
  • talk the talk
References in periodicals archive
The tracks are "Sea Legs", "The Platypus and the Stevesuscemi", "A Dragon Tale", "If you Can't Sing Well, Sing Loud", "Kid Van Winkle", "Chicken Flap Fly", "The Shad and the Eel", "Nightmare on the Kid's Menu", "Left Foot Right Foot", and "The Great White Ball".
BRINGING nursery rhymes to life, Sea Legs Puppet Theatre is at the Lawrence Batley Theatre on Saturday, June 20, with a midsummer production of Little Bo Peep.
The sea legs pose the greatest challenge for the Solar Impulse team as any loss of power over the water would leave the pilot no alternative but to bail out and await rescue by boat.
HARBOUR LIVES ITV 8.30pm (Not Wales) Ben Fogle needs his sea legs again as he has a go at piloting a dredger which provides a vital role in clearing silt, thereby keeping water levels high enough for boats using the harbour.
If Baldwin took no time getting his sea legs, no wonder.
Tim Spall's maritime excursions were also good fun, and the latest star to get their sea legs is actor and comedian Adrian Edmondson.
Thankfully, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has a new idea to help cure such wobbly sea legs.
SEA LEGS Mark Reeves, Adam Aston and Daniel Graham aboard Rob Langley's yacht Pendragon during the Castles and Islands challenge
I removed it and the fan worked like a charm--no sea legs required!
A REDCAR lifeboat crew member is swapping his sea legs for running shoes to tackle The Great North Run.
Figure 6 shows the average deviations from the sea legs ranked from highest to lowest and compared against the rankings from the OZ and US legs.
I have no sea legs and am new to all of this but it is all about supporting the project and raising awareness for organ transplantation and what transplant patients can achieve."
Summary: A year after he was plucked from an ice floe off Poland's coast, Baltic the dog has found his sea legs again.
The company got into the surimi business in 1999 when it purchased the Sea Legs facility from Nichirei Foods of North America.
The movie was shot in South Africa, and the actress has confessed that it took her a long time to find her sea legs.