Careful Words

steer (n.)

steer (v.)

  'T is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.

George Washington (1732-1799): His Farewell Address.

Form'd by thy converse, happily to steer

From grave to gay, from lively to severe.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): Essay on Man. Epistle iv. Line 379.

Happy who in his verse can gently steer

From grave to light, from pleasant to severe.

John Dryden (1631-1701): The Art of Poetry. Canto i. Line 75.

Thus I steer my bark, and sail

On even keel, with gentle gale.

Matthew Green (1696-1737): The Spleen.

Yet I argue not

Against Heav'n's hand or will, nor bate a jot

Of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer

Right onward.

John Milton (1608-1674): Sonnet xxii. To Cyriac Skinner.

Earth laughs in flowers to see her boastful boys

Earth-proud, proud of the earth which is not theirs;

Who steer the plough, but cannot steer their feet

Clear of the grave.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): Hamatreya.