The Russian language is great and powerful. But, apparently, there is no limit to perfection, because at certain periods of time it begins to replenish with words and expressions that other peoples share with us. For example, the famous expression shershe La femme, which is translated from French as “look for a woman”, has taken root quite well in Russian open spaces. Or the word "maneuver", the meaning of which is not a secret to anyone. However, few people know about its origin.
Age of Peter I
During the reign of Peter the Great, a flood of foreign words poured into the Russian Empire, especially those related to maritime affairs. Due to the fact that the ship masters were, as a rule, from Holland, the terms were introduced into the Russian language from this country.
For example, such is the origin of the word “maneuver”, the meaning of which is “to move against the wind”. It is borrowed from the Dutch language during the time of Peter I. The word is written in the historical homeland as laveeren, and is formed from the noun loef, which means "wind".
What dictionaries say
In various sources, the word "tack" has several meanings. One of them is related to the sea and shipbuilding. The expression "ships maneuvered" means that they were going against the wind, substituting for it either the starboard or the starboard side. That is, if you trace the trajectory of the vessel, it will be represented by a broken line.
The second meaning of the word “maneuver” is no longer relevant to ships. However, it correlates with the winding trajectory of the movement of someone or something, due to the need to go around the obstacles encountered on the way.
That is, it does not matter, this is the movement of an animate subject or an inanimate object.
Diplomatic Tricks
Another derivative of tacking is figurative. It has more to do with psychology and diplomacy.
First, in this context, “tacking” means deftly dodging troubles, adapting to circumstances. In this case, the Russian expression "came out of the water dry" most accurately conveys the meaning of the word.
Secondly, “tacking” has to do with the ability to express so subtly and gracefully and move from topic to topic that the interlocutor is not able to notice when he was brought up to discuss an unpleasant question. Moreover, the conversation takes place as if in passing, it does not touch upon acute topics or smooths them out.
Thus, in this case we are dealing with streamlined formulations, the meaning of which can only be caught between the lines. Which is the art of diplomacy. In addition, this skill is often used in diplomatic letters, as well as wherever they want, without showing too much interest, to bring the opponent to the discussion of a certain issue.