HELM HARD DOWN, PUT HER

the action of turning, as far as possible, the helm of a ship so that the rudder moves in the same direction the wind is coming from. The helm controls the direction of a ship's movement. To put the helm down causes the ship to turn toward the point from which the wind blows. To move the helm hard means to move it sharply and as far as possible in some direction. The word helm comes from the Old Norwegian word hjalm, which means handle.