Browsing page 1 of new words for April 21, 2005

adjective

• extremely intoxicated

  Person A: Was Otis drunk when he came to the jail last night?
  
  Person B: He sure was. He was 3 sheets to the wind.

  • See more words with the same meaning: under the influence of alcohol, drunk.

  Last edited on May 04 2013. Submitted by Bridget M. from Watford, Warwick, ON, Canada on Apr 21 2005.

origin

• Originally a nautical phrase of the 19th century.
  
  On a tall ship, "sheets" are the ropes which hold the corners of the sails (the clews) taut, so that the sail can catch wind and move the ship forward. If one of these lines becomes loose, the ship wobbles and trembles slightly, if two of them become loose the ship yaws (pitches) from side to side rather drunkenly and if three sheets are (flapping about) in the wind, then the ship careens all over the place and is all but impossible to steer, much like an extremely drunk person.
  
  "Three sheets in the wind" became "three sheets to the wind" at some point in history and has since been adopted by non-seafarers.

  Last edited on May 06 2011. Submitted by TimeTravellingGeezer from Fort Collins, CO, USA on Mar 07 2011.

interjection

• interjection of displeasure.

                                                                
  
  Citation from "Unseen", Reaper (TV), Season 1 Episode 12 (2008) censored in hope of resolving Google's penalty against this site.

  • See more words with the same meaning: exclamations (list of).

  Last edited on Dec 24 2010. Submitted by Margaret M. on Apr 21 2005.