What is "to sail fine"

fine \fine\ (f[imac]n), a. [Compar. finer (f[imac]n"[~e]r); superl. finest.] [F. fin, LL. finus fine, pure, fr. L. finire to finish; cf. finitus, p. p., finished, completed (hence the sense accomplished, perfect.) See Finish, and cf. Finite.]

1. Finished; brought to perfection; refined; hence, free from impurity; excellent; superior; elegant; worthy of admiration; accomplished; beautiful.

   The gain thereof [is better] than fine gold.
   --Prov. iii. 14.

   A cup of wine that's brisk and fine.
   --Shak.

   Not only the finest gentleman of his time, but one of the finest scholars.
   --Felton.

   To soothe the sick bed of so fine a being [Keats].
   --Leigh Hunt.

2. Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated; showy.

   He gratified them with occasional . . . fine writing.
   --M. Arnold.

3. Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous.

   The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine!
   --Pope.

   The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery.
   --Dryden.

   He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman.
   --T. Gray.

4. Not coarse, gross, or heavy; as:

   1. Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous.

      The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser.
      --Bacon.

   2. Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as, fine sand or flour.

   3. Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as, a fine thread.

   4. Thin; attenuate; keen; as, a fine edge.

   5. Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as, fine linen or silk.

5. Having (such) a proportion of pure metal in its composition; as, coins nine tenths fine.

6. (Used ironically.)

   Ye have made a fine hand, fellows.
   --Shak.

   Note: Fine is often compounded with participles and adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, fine-drawn, fine-featured, fine-grained, fine-spoken, fine-spun, etc.

   Fine arch (Glass Making), the smaller fritting furnace of a glasshouse.
   --Knight.

   Fine arts. See the Note under Art.

   Fine cut, fine cut tobacco; a kind of chewing tobacco cut up into shreds.

   Fine goods, woven fabrics of fine texture and quality.
   --McElrath.

   Fine stuff, lime, or a mixture of lime, plaster, etc., used as material for the finishing coat in plastering.

   To sail fine (Naut.), to sail as close to the wind as possible.

   Syn: Fine, Beautiful.

   Usage: When used as a word of praise, fine (being opposed to coarse) denotes no ``ordinary thing of its kind.'' It is not as strong as beautiful, in reference to the single attribute implied in the latter term; but when we speak of a fine woman, we include a greater variety of particulars, viz., all the qualities which become a woman, -- breeding, sentiment, tact, etc. The term is equally comprehensive when we speak of a fine garden, landscape, horse, poem, etc.; and, though applied to a great variety of objects, the word has still a very definite sense, denoting a high degree of characteristic excellence.