Three Sheets to the Wind

Martha, we’ve got an email here from David in Southern California.

David has a question about the expression, three sheets to the wind.

You know that one, right?

I’m not, if that’s what you’re asking.

Oh, no, no. Three sheets to the wind means drunk.

Right.

And he found it in the movie, Sixteen Candles.

Remember that early 80s teen flick?

Right, right, right.

It’s a great film with Mallory Ringwald.

She has a bad day and there’s all kinds of crazy stuff that goes on.

In any case, somebody in the movie uses the expression, three sheets to the wind,

And David just wants to know where it comes from and what it means exactly.

What are the sheets?

You know, when I was growing up, I always assumed that the reference was to a clothesline hung with sheets.

And the wind’s blowing and they’re just flapping wildly.

That was my childhood experience, and so that’s what I thought it meant.

Then later on, I heard that it was a nautical reference.

And so I was assuming that it was sheets, you know, sheets like sails.

The sails flapping like sheets in a strong wind.

But that’s not it either.

I found out I was wrong about that.

Okay.

What is it then?

Well, the real story is that in nautical language, the word sheet, S-H-E-E-T, actually refers

To a rope that’s tied to the corner of a sail and is used to control that sail.

And if you have one or two or even worse, if you have three of these controlling sheets

Loose in the wind, then of course you can’t control the boat and you’re wobbling around

And can’t steer the boat.

And so if you’re a person and you’re three sheets in the wind, then you’re sort of staggering around like a drunken sailor.

So you look like the boat that is poorly guided, right?

Right, right, that has those ropes, those sheets just flapping in the wind.

And I think that that reflects the fact that we landlubbers don’t really know the origin of that.

We’re thinking of those sails as sheets.

So sheets are ropes, but don’t ever tell a sailor that you’re calling his sheets ropes because there are no ropes on boats.

And some boats aren’t boats, they’re ships, right?

So don’t do that either.

Oh.

Where’s my Xanax?

They’re very particular about their language, aren’t they, the sailors?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right.

Well, cool.

Sheets are ropes.

And if you’re three sheets to the wind, then your ropes are loose and not tied down like they’re supposed to be.

Exactly.

If you’ve got a question about language or you want to send us an email to have it read on the air,

The email address is words@waywordradio.org.