Trim of sails?

[All Potted Out]

Dear Teachers,

What I read was:

"Come here, my little mouse."
Bianca knew enough not to come forward. "A mouse doesn't accept invitations from a cat." she said.
"She's got the trim of your sails!" Lucrezia hooted with unprincipled glee.

What does it mean by "got the trim of your sails"?

[Yankee]

Hi all potted out

I'd understand "She's got the trim of your sails!" to mean "She understands how you think/what you're planning (and therefore knows what to expect)".

Since this isn't an idiom I'd personally use, however, maybe someone else will have a different interpretation. It sounds rather British to me. It may be similar to saying "She's got your number."
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+number+on+it

Amy

[Mister Micawber]

.
Not British, I think, APO-- just nautical. Trimming one's sails is getting the sails of a ship set just properly to work the wind efficiently. Getting the trim, as Yankee says, is successfully learning this, i.e. the other person's attitude/personality/purposes.

The image could be carried even further: knowing the trim of the sails implies that one knows where the ship (or adversary) is going, what his plans are.

It is quite a nice metaphor.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

[Yankee]

Outstanding, MM! Your descriptive explanation is quite eloquent.

Amy

[Tom]

[All Potted Out]

Thanks for your replies. And, here's another question I forgot to ask: what does it mean by "unprincipled glee"?

[Conchita]

[Tom]

I am sorry to disturb you all again!
Would anyone please answer my question???

Tom

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

I'm kind of interested in APO myself. The only thing I know is the abbreviation for "Army Post Office"...

Amy

[Conchita]