off keel

Prepositional phrase

1. Out of balance, tilting to one side. (of a watercraft, etc.)
   • The tide was full and the dingey was off keel. The punt nosed the pebbly slope like a terrier, but her stern swung clear.1896, William Sharp, Boston: Lamson, Wolffe & Col, Chapter 4, p. 78
   • […] at the finish the boat is moving faster, and the blade must be taken out more sharply if it is to avoid pulling the boat off keel.1906, Arthur Wesselhoeft Stevens, chapter 1, in Practical Rowing with Scull and Sweep, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., page 10
2. (figuratively) Out of control, not proceeding or running smoothly.
   • The lower half of a duplex apartment on a shabby Montreal street, dark as limbo, jerry-built fifty years ago and going off keel ever since.1960, Brian Moore, chapter 1, in The Luck of Ginger Coffey, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., page 4
   • I’ve learned the lesson that the worst thing that can happen to a gambler is to let his recent losses or wins knock him off keel emotionally.1998 November 8, Linda Greenhouse, “Horse Sense”, in The New York Times Magazine