three sheets in the wind
three sheets in the wind
slang Extremely drunk, especially to the point of being uncoordinated or out of control. Most likely derived from nautical terminology, in which a "sheet" is the rope that controls the sails of a tall ship; if several sheets are loose or mishandled, the boat's movement becomes unsteady and difficult to control, like that of a drunk person. On his 21st birthday, Jeff's friends took him to every bar in town until he was three sheets in the wind. They had an open bar at the staff party, so we were all three sheets in the wind by the time we left.
See also: sheet, three, wind
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
three sheets in the wind
and three sheets (to the wind); two sheets to the windInf. intoxicated and unsteady. (Sheets are the ropes used to manage a ship's sails. It is assumed that if these ropes were blowing in the wind, the ship would be out of control.) He had gotten three sheets to the wind and didn't pay attention to my warning. By midnight, he was three sheets.
See also: sheet, three, wind
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
three sheets in the wind
and three sheets (to the wind) and two sheets to the wind mod. alcohol intoxicated and unsteady. (Sheets are the ropes used to manage a ship’s sails. It is assumed that if these ropes were blowing in the wind, the ship would be unmanageable.) He was three sheets to the wind and didn’t pay attention to my warning.
See also: sheet, three, wind
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
- three sheets
- three sheets to the wind
- four sheets
- four sheets in the wind
- four sheets to the wind
- two sheets to the wind
- both sheets in the wind
- back water
- bitter end, (fight) to the
- first port of call