plain sailing
noun
: smooth sailing
Creating the lagoon was not all plain sailing. The bulldozer compacted the soil, and several trees died.
Eleanor Dwight
Eleanor Dwight
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web British history since 1952 hasn’t been plain sailing. Andrew Roberts, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 While both influencers and hotels agree the relationship between the two needs to be mutually beneficial, that doesn't mean the future for the industry is plain sailing. Melissa Mahtani, CNN, 7 June 2022 But her journey to becoming Instagram’s favorite Ursula Andress has not been plain sailing. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 9 Jan. 2022 The family’s first years in Canada were not at all plain sailing, however. Forbes, 10 Nov. 2021 The journey was relatively plain sailing, with only a minor hiccup of a music score flying off a stand, though quickly rescued from the water. Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 21 Sep. 2021 If Pogacar's victory was one for the ages, this year's Tour wasn't always plain sailing, however, after a woman held out a banner and caused the crash of dozens of cyclists during the first stage. Matias Grez, CNN, 18 July 2021 But the future is far from plain sailing for Sunak. NBC News, 25 Nov. 2020 And even if Christmas does turn out to be better than expected – because a Brexit deal has been struck and an election delayed until 2020 — that doesn’t mean plain sailing from now on. Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019 See More
Andrew Roberts, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 While both influencers and hotels agree the relationship between the two needs to be mutually beneficial, that doesn't mean the future for the industry is plain sailing. Melissa Mahtani, CNN, 7 June 2022 But her journey to becoming Instagram’s favorite Ursula Andress has not been plain sailing. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 9 Jan. 2022 The family’s first years in Canada were not at all plain sailing, however. Forbes, 10 Nov. 2021 The journey was relatively plain sailing, with only a minor hiccup of a music score flying off a stand, though quickly rescued from the water. Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 21 Sep. 2021 If Pogacar's victory was one for the ages, this year's Tour wasn't always plain sailing, however, after a woman held out a banner and caused the crash of dozens of cyclists during the first stage. Matias Grez, CNN, 18 July 2021 But the future is far from plain sailing for Sunak. NBC News, 25 Nov. 2020 And even if Christmas does turn out to be better than expected – because a Brexit deal has been struck and an election delayed until 2020 — that doesn’t mean plain sailing from now on. Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2019 See More Word History
First Known Use
1796, in the meaning defined above