Here's another description along the same lines...
<paste from: http://www.word-detective.com/030600.html >
In its original nautical usage, however, "by and large" had a fairly precise
meaning. One of the trickiest courses to sail is almost directly into the
wind, a maneuver called "close hauling" because the sails are angled tight
against the wind. Close hauling requires an experienced sailor at the helm
because of the danger of being "taken aback," or having the sails blown back
against the ship's masts, halting the ship's progress. Sailing close hauled
into the wind is also called sailing "close and by," the "by" meaning "in
the direction of" in this context.
If the sailor at the helm were not an experienced salt, the Captain might
prudently forego sailing "close and by" and instead order a less demanding
course of "by and large." This means to sail in the general direction of the
wind, but not so close as to run the risk of being taken aback. "By and
large" first appeared in naval terminology in 1669, but was so obviously a
useful metaphor that landlubbers were using it to mean "in general" by about
1833.
</paste>
Yours, happily googling...
RickM
> My favorite is the term "by and large" as I have no idea what it means or
> where the hell it came from. Does anyone know? /jim
>
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