Sister Patricia Marie in San Antonio, Texas, wonders why we use three sheets to the wind to describe someone who is inebriated. In nautical terminology, some of the ropes, or lines, attached to the corner of a sail are called sheets. If three of...
If a tippler has one too many, he’s said to be “three sheets to the wind.” But why three? And why, of all things, sheets? This is part of a complete episode.