stay to see ships is a popular expression of the Portuguese language that means being deceived, deceived, seeing your expectations frustrated and being disillusioned.
An equivalent expression in English would be "left high and dry".
Check out the following example of the expression "watching ships" used in a sentence: "He said he would give me a ride to the party, but he didn't show up and I watched ships."
expression source
The expression "watching ships" appeared in Portugal and there are some stories that can explain its origin. At the time of great navigations and discoveries, many Portuguese stayed in Lisbon, on a hill called Alto de Santa Catarina. For some authors, they were shipowners waiting for the caravels that came from overseas continents, bringing various treasures; for others they were sebastianists who believed in the return of D. Sebastião, king of Portugal, disappeared in Africa, in the battle of Alcácer-Quibir, in 1578. The Portuguese people refused to believe in the death of their king and therefore, it was common for people to stay in Alto de Santa Catarina, in Lisbon, to wait for the king. It is true that D. Sebastião never returned, and that is why these people were left to see ships, that is, they were disappointed because what they had hoped for did not materialize.
A very similar explanation consists in the fact that at the time, the women stayed at home, waiting for their husbands who had left with the boats. After a long time, the women kept watching the ships that arrived at the ports to find their husbands, often without success. Then came the expression: He was watching ships, that is, he was waiting for something that didn't come.
The third explanation reveals the expression "watching ships" in the sense of being deceived by someone. In 1492 it was determined that Jews who did not convert to Catholicism would have to leave Spain by the end of July. Thousands then moved to Portugal. The wedding of King D. Manuel with D. Isabel, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, made her accept the Spanish demand to expel all Jews who lived in Portugal who did not become Catholics, within a period ranging from January to October of the year 1497. King Dom Manuel needed the Portuguese Jews, as they represented the entire middle class and the workforce, and were also a great intellectual influence. If Portugal expelled them as Spain did, the country would have to face a major crisis. However, D. Manuel had no interest in expelling this community.
The king of Portugal hoped that by retaining the Jews in the country, their descendants might perhaps become Christians as a result of the influence of Catholic culture in Portugal. For that to happen, he took extremely drastic measures, even ordering that children under 14 years of age be taken from their parents for conversion. Then he pretended to set an expulsion date at Easter. When the date for the embarkation of those who did not accept Catholicism arrived, he stated that there were not enough ships to take them and ordered a mass baptism of those gathered in Lisbon awaiting transport for others countries. On the appointed day, all the Jews were in the port waiting for the ships that did not come. All were converted and baptized. The king then declared: there are no more Jews in Portugal, they are all Christians (New Christians). Many were dragged to the baptismal font by their beards or hair. From this event came the expression: "they were left to see ships", because they had been deceived.