Liliputin -1792

Trump's appeasing reaction to the latest Russian Navy aggression act against Ukrainian Navy  proofs that his personal policy toward his old comrade Putin is based on the principle: " Whatever makes your boat float ... "
Admiral William H. McRaven




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What does the saying "whatever floats your boat" mean?


Whatever floats your boat means you can do/have whatever you want/like.
•Ann: Oh man I love eating cheeseburgers with chocolate covered bacon.
Bill: Ha, whatever floats your boat. (You can do whatever you want/like.)
•Jenny: You know, I would love to meet a gorilla in the wild.
Hannah: Whatever floats your boat. (You can do whatever you want/like.)
•I would never wear socks with sandals, but whatever floats your boat.

Another alternative is: to each his own
•I would never wear socks with sandals, but to each his own.



Whatever floats your boat means “whatever seems favorable and rewarding to you ”. It is mostly used to emphasize that you are at liberty to choose what you deem necessary for yourself. It is an expression used to enlighten someone that they have the power to choose what will help them, so they are not coerced to follow your own perception or advice pertaining to an issue.

It means that you are at liberty to make your own choice and are at the expense of its outcomes. When you make your decisions, it is based on your own convictions and beliefs. And concepts because no one subjected you to your decisions. They are made voluntarily. It means whatever seems right to you, you should go ahead and do it unapologetically.


Originally Answered: What exactly is "whatever floats your boat"?


It can be a used as a pronoun or an interjection:

Pronoun[1]

whatever floats your boat
1.(idiomatic) What makes you happy; what stimulates you.

Interjection[2]

whatever floats your boat
1.(idiomatic) Do whatever makes you happy or stimulates you.


Originally Answered: What exactly is "whatever floats your boat"?


Means whatever makes you happy or whatever allows you to be you.

Usually when people say that to you they are exasperated because you are adamant on one option while they keep trying to give you other advice, and while not agreeing, they give up.


Pretty much, "whatever works for you", "whatever makes you happy", e.g.
A: "I sleep on the roof. Taking the risk is fun, in my opinion."
B: "Whatever floats your boat."
See Wiktionary: whatever floats your boat
According to this source (Common Sayings and Where they Came From  | Rounds) it has rather obscene origins:
"This term comes from the term “man in the boat,” the boat being a woman’s clitoris. Therefore, if “your boat is floating” you are very happy, hence, whatever floats your boat."

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