hector5559

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What does three sheets to the wind mean,??

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+6 Views: 753 Answers: 8 Posted: 8 years ago

8 Answers

ROMOS

Karma: 2300425

Best answer!

Derived from sailing ships. The 'sheet' in the phrase uses the nautical meaning, of a rope that controls the trim of sail. If a sheet is loose, the sail flaps and doesn't provide control for the ship. Having several sheets loose ("to the wind") could cause the ship to rock about drunkenly. Before settling on the standard usage of "three sheets", a scale used to be employed to rate the drunkenness of a person, with "one sheet" meaning slightly inebriated, and "four sheets" meaning unconscious. A better description relates this phrase to a square-rigged ship sailing on the wind, on a bowline as they say. With the three windward sheets hauled all the way forward, in or to the wind, the ship will stagger like a drunken sailor as she meets the waves at an angle of 60 degrees to the beam. For loose sheets to have this effect there would have to be six loose sheets, three to windward and three to leeward. Also, unless all the upper sails secured to the yards were also loosed having the course sheets loose would not produce any change in a ship's motion except to reduce its forward speed a bit. On a Bermuda-rigged sailboat, there are only three sheets: the left and right jib sheets and the main sheet. On such a vessel, "three sheets to the wind" would mean that all of the sheets are loose and none of the sails were being controlled, and thus the phrase refers to being "completely out-of-control".

8 years ago. Rating: 7
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FISH-O

Karma: 954810

Very, very drunk with legs wobbling, a bit of drooling and an extremely hilarious grandfather playing the piano whilst sipping very good whisky.

The piano playing part was always 'extremely' accurate no matter what.

The man was a bit of a genius .... Ha! and, funny to boot. (not something I should pass on to my children!)

8 years ago. Rating: 8
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hector5559

A Very warm way of putting it Fish-O,

commented 8 years ago

FISH-O

My Gramps was pretty special. Never sober but, pretty special.

commented 8 years ago

lindilou

I had an Uncle like that who'd feign passing out at the table and leave dollar bills hanging out his pocket to see if he could catch us swiping some ... lol
[We usually got away with about 5 bucks which could score a lot of loot at the corner store back then lol]

commented 8 years ago

FISH-O

That is funny Lindi. In the days of Mojos and those saltwater taffy bars that were sold in wax paper, Orange Crush and Old Dutch Potato Chips. ... I really ate badly as a child. What were my parents thinking?

commented 8 years ago

lindilou

LoL This is what I thought too but the media-hype was certainly effective on our parents ... new this improved that better bigger faster ... and more expensive to the health! In hindsight we see the woes of our ways ... ak aka dak!

commented 8 years ago

FISH-O

This is why I shop at the market, buy local, grow my own food and cook from scratch.
.... And, besides that, I am not paying five cents for a Mojo. That is ridiculous! :D

commented 8 years ago

lindilou

Geez 5 cents! Hmmmmm ... I lost my mojo a looooong time ago now ... hmmm . I wonder.

commented 8 years ago

FISH-O

Your Mojo is probably not lost. It's probably just under the dresser or couch, behind the refrigerator.... Mojos never go stale. They are nuclear.

commented 8 years ago

lindilou

OH! THAT"S why I'm glowing in the dark!!!! ;D

commented 8 years ago

FISH-O

Yes, the two of us are filled with nuclear sheeeeeeeet! And, canned foods. We are doomed. :).

commented 8 years ago

lindilou

KD the cause of ADHD ... wasn't THAT nice of them?
birty dastards!

commented 8 years ago

FISH-O

I could never eat KD. The smell of it is up there with liver.

I blame my problems on the canned fruit and jello.
I can't blame Tang, that stuff saved my friend Zina's life. It's a flipping good thing she explained diabetes to me at an early age.

commented 8 years ago

country bumpkin