Definition of "any port in a storm"

[W]hen vveaker veſſels beare ſaile only in a calme, a true veſſell of Chriſt ſhould ſaile beſt to his vviſhed port in a ſtorme.]

The Third Centurie.”, in A Theatre of Politicall Flying-Insects. […], London: […] M. S. for Thomas Parkhurst, […], section XIX, page 354

Pooh, ſays he my dear, any port in a ſtorm.

1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the Second]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume II, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], page 133

I'll give you the journal, my boy, […] eight A.M. Bonypart running away; nine A.M. Bonypart on board; ten A.M. Bonypart sinking; eleven A.M. Bonypart in Davy's Locker; Meridian Bonypart in the north corner of ——, where it burns and freezes at the same time: but you know any port in a storm, Bony, so there I'll leave ye.

1804 August 4, “Levity: Bob Rousem’s Epistle to Bonypart”, in Oliver Oldschool [pseudonym; John Elihu Hall], editor, The Port Folio, volume IV, number 31, Philadelphia, Pa.: […] Hugh Maxwell, […], page 246, column 2

[A]s this Scotsman's howf lies right under your lee, why, take any port in a storm.

1822, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in The Pirate. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., page 60

I was equally indifferent to cost and convenience in my choice of a lodging—"any port in a storm" was the principle on which I was prepared to act; […]

1893–1897 (date written), Robert Louis Stevenson, “I Meet a Cheerful Extravagant”, in St. Ives: Being the Adventures of a French Prisoner in England, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1897, pages 264–265

After finding both stairwells untenable at the roof, the Captain and the rookie take the window‐washing scaffold—any port in a storm—down the side of the building to the fire floor.

1974 January 27, Dennis Smith, “Playing with fire can mean getting burned [review of Firehouse]”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, archived from the original on 2017-09-09, page 17

Most supporters have been surprised at how Joe [Kinnear] has steadied the ship and most people seemed to have warmed to him. He wasn’t the most popular appointment, but I think the phrase ‘any port in a storm’ came to mind when we were getting turned down by everyone.

2008 December 28, Jon Henderson, quoting Malcolm Holmes, “Kinnear: A man you can swear by”, in The Observer‎, London: Guardian News & Media, archived from the original on 2024-04-08