heavy weather
Difficult sailing conditions
Heavy weather is severe or stormy conditions at sea—strong winds, high waves, rough sailing.
The phrase appears most often in make heavy weather of, meaning to treat something as more difficult than it needs to be: She made heavy weather of a simple request.
The nautical image suggests struggling unnecessarily against conditions that shouldn't be so hard to navigate.
- stormSevere atmospheric disturbance
- rough seasTurbulent ocean conditions
- galeSevere sustained wind
- high windsFast-moving air masses
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
hurricane · tempest · struggle · tough going · ballast · adversity · typhoon · obstacle · burden · shipwreck · keel · cyclone · squall · anchor · thunderstorm · navigation · blizzard · monsoon
- seamanshipseamanship, steering, anchoring, navigation, chartwork
- marine weatherstorm warning, gale warning, shipping forecast, small craft advisory, marine forecast
heavy weathercalm seas
Flat, waveless ocean
smooth sailing · fair weather · gentle breeze · still waters · clear skies
heavy weatherfair weather
Pleasant, dry climate
clear skies · mild weather · settled weather · good weather · sunny skies
heavy weathersmooth sailing
Untroubled progress forward
plain sailing · easy going · clear sailing · easy street · good times
heavy, weather, heavier, heaviest, heavily, heaviness, weathers, weathered, weathering