Talk:Plane sailing
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"Plain Sailing" is not incorrect.
On etymological grounds, and in terms of recorded historical usage, and in terms of current accepted usage; both 'plane' and 'plain' can be justified in this phrase. And it matters not whether one is using the phrase nautically or metaphorically; both spellings are perfectly acceptable.
Etymologically:
Both words come from the Latin; planus, meaning 'plain'. And in fact, the two separate spellings and meanings did not differentiate until comparatively recently; and they still haven't completely differentiated. Consider Salisbury Plain and the American Great Plains, both so called because they are flat, i.e., they approximate to planes.
Historical usage:
"A Token for Ship-Boys, or Plain Sailing made more plain." (Adam Martindale, 1683, A Collection of Letters for Improvement of Husbandry & Trade)
"The rudiments, which would no sooner be run over, than the rest would become plain sailing." (Fanny Burney, 1796, Camilla)
Current usage: The OED accepts both spellings, and so it should!
So, plane sailing, or plain sailing; you pays your money and you takes your choice! :) 68.228.208.191 (talk) 15:23, 4 September 2008 (UTC)