Take the Wind Out of Your Sails.
English
idiom
To suddenly make someone lose their excitement or confidence.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To suddenly make someone lose their excitement or confidence.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To suddenly knock the confidence or excitement out of someone.
When something takes the wind out of your sails, a surprise problem kills your momentum.
It lands just when you were feeling strongest.
"Knock Someone Down a Peg"
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To humiliate someone or lower their status, not to reduce their enthusiasm
"Burst Someone's Bubble"
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To shatter a false hope or illusion, not to deflate someone's real enthusiasm
"Take the Wind Out of Your Sails"
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To suddenly deflate someone's enthusiasm or confidence with bad news
We just found out the conference we were presenting at got canceled.
That really takes the wind out of my sails — I'd been looking forward to that for weeks.
The trip ended up costing twice what I budgeted — it really took the wind out of my sails.
Let's go through the costs together — there might be a cheaper option we missed.
I finally finished my manuscript and the publisher rejected it.
That takes the wind out of your sails — how are you feeling about it?
