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addict
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OP
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I agree that "three sheets to the wind" is nautical. The sheets are the ropes which hold the sails to (relatively) fixed bits of the boat, so if 3 (out of more presumably) sheets are "to the wind" or loose, then the sail will flap around, and presumably the boat will also travel unsteadily in a drunken manner.
Do clowns get pie-eyed
Do cooks get stewed
Do nurses get plastered
Do blasphemers get stoned
Do garage mechanics get well-oiled
Do laundrette assistants get 3 sheets to the wind
Rod Ward
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
<<three sheets to the wind = loose ropes (as in "jib sheets")
From Webster's online:
Etymology: Middle English shete, from Old English scyte; akin to Old English scEat edge, Old High German scOz flap, skirt Date: before 12th century
1 a : a broad piece of cloth; especially : BEDSHEET b : SAIL 1a(1)
Thus, not rope, but the sail itself. "Three sheets to the wind" would be lots of sail in the wind and equivalent to "going full speed ahead."
Or?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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<<magicians do it with mirrors...>> ...and bunnies.   -Binky
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old hand
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old hand
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...only just remembered:
'tired and emotional'
Used specifically when referring to drunken politicians. Native to the UK?
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
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'tired and emotional' Used specifically when referring to drunken politicians
Perfect!
Wish I'd known that phrase and meaning when I was a reporter. I think it may be UK usage.
If indeed "The Greeks Had a Word For It" is true then it must follow that "The Brits Have A Phrase For It"
'tired and emotional' -- A really good one!
I may pass it on to reporters still active in the business.
wow
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
I also had heard the ropes connection. This is supported by Dave Wilton. See http://www.wordorigins.org/wordort.htm#Three Sheets to the. The notion is not one of clear sailing as suggest by inselpeter's "going full speed ahead." but rather lack of control. This is expanded upon by the Word Detective here http://www.word-detective.com/back-p.html#sheets wherein he contends there was a full up hierarchy of lack of control culminating in "four sheets to the wind" specifying unconsciousness.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
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Native to the UK?Yes, I think it was coined by the late great Peter Cook in the satirical magazine Private Eye. Bless him the ropes connectionI can’t speak for other areas, but in boating parlance around the south coast of England sheet has, throughout my experience, unequivocally meant the ropes with which the sails are adjusted. To have three sheets to the wind simply implies being out of control, and so characteristically weaving about all over the place as blown by each puff of wind.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Engineers do it with precision
Scuba divers do it deeper
Copier techs do it repeatedly
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpenters get hammered.
Football players get blitzed.
Musicians get strung.
Prostitutes get fucked up.
Sanitary workers get wasted.
Deli workers get pickled.
Snow Plow drivers get sloshed.
Boxers get stupid.
Tailors tie one on.
Zookeepers get zoo-headed.
Race car drivers get smashed.
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