all at sea
Utterly without bearings
All at sea means confused or uncertain, unable to find one's bearings.
The phrase evokes being lost on open water with no landmarks: I'm all at sea with this new software.
Sometimes shortened to at sea: The new regulations left everyone at sea.
- helplessUnable to act independently
- adriftFloating without control
- unmooredReleased from anchorage
- bewilderedThoroughly puzzled and confused
- in deep waterFacing serious difficulty
flummoxed · out of one's depth · rudderless · perplexed · disoriented · puzzled · unsettled · tempest-tossed · baffled · at a loss · treading water · insecure · mystified · vulnerable · afloat · up the creek · discombobulated · shipwrecked
- confusionconfusion, confused, bewilderment, perplexity, baffled
- Nautical Idiomsbatten down the hatches, smooth sailing, three sheets to the wind, in the same boat, rock the boat
- sea idiomsdead in the water, smooth sailing, sink or swim, miss the boat, rock the boat
- nautical phrasesahoy, aye aye, smooth sailing, yo ho ho, heave ho
all at seaclear-headed
Able to think rationally
oriented · sure-footed · in the know · clued up · with it
all at seagrounded
Stable and realistic
anchored · on solid ground · oriented · rooted · sure-footed
all at seain one's element
Ideally suited to surroundings
in control · at home · in the driver's seat · confident · assured
all, sea, seas, seaward, seaborne, seafaring, seafarer, seaside, seascape