While I find this informative, I wholeheartedly disagree with the final conclusion. The phrase used in Spanish to mean “the coast is clear” is “no hay Moros en la costa”. This means “there are no Moors on the coast”. Looking back to the time when the Moors took control of Spain, this clearly refers to the nautical meaning of coast. It is even likely that this phrase may have grown from this specific period of time, being used by the Spanish to determine whether or not they could land on shore safely.
Either definition- rolling along with no effort or some sort of shore line- the term coast evokes warm fuzzies for a certain segment of the people…. And heck, if the coast is clear, why not go for it?
Leland Steve Davies:
March 21st, 2021 at 12:07 pm
Business.. or any type of confrontation over.. we can now move on with our peaceful plans. Or… unless or until someone (usually a lawyer or a policeman or ones parents) dictates we can now get back to what we had in mind. Like a still body of water (puddle: Pond or Sea) when disturbed by a pebble; boulder or storm… after the affects of those events are over… because of the wonderful aspects of gravity and the curvature of the earth things are back to normal.. and the coast is clear.. or the slate is clean.
Leave a comment
Search us!
Search The Word Detective and our family of websites:
This is the easiest way to find a column on a particular word or phrase.
To search for a specific phrase, put it between quotation marks. (note: JavaScript must be turned on in your browser to view results.)
Ask a Question!
Puzzled by Posh?
Confounded by Cattycorner?
Baffled by Balderdash?
Flummoxed by Flabbergast?
Perplexed by Pandemonium?
Nonplussed by... Nonplussed?
Annoyed by Alliteration?
Trevor Simmons:
January 22nd, 2013 at 12:53 pm
While I find this informative, I wholeheartedly disagree with the final conclusion. The phrase used in Spanish to mean “the coast is clear” is “no hay Moros en la costa”. This means “there are no Moors on the coast”. Looking back to the time when the Moors took control of Spain, this clearly refers to the nautical meaning of coast. It is even likely that this phrase may have grown from this specific period of time, being used by the Spanish to determine whether or not they could land on shore safely.
Tom Potter:
June 3rd, 2018 at 8:21 pm
Either definition- rolling along with no effort or some sort of shore line- the term coast evokes warm fuzzies for a certain segment of the people…. And heck, if the coast is clear, why not go for it?
Leland Steve Davies:
March 21st, 2021 at 12:07 pm
Business.. or any type of confrontation over.. we can now move on with our peaceful plans. Or… unless or until someone (usually a lawyer or a policeman or ones parents) dictates we can now get back to what we had in mind. Like a still body of water (puddle: Pond or Sea) when disturbed by a pebble; boulder or storm… after the affects of those events are over… because of the wonderful aspects of gravity and the curvature of the earth things are back to normal.. and the coast is clear.. or the slate is clean.