The phrase “three sheets in the wind” refers to extreme drunkenness, originating from sailors describing their level of intoxication by the number of loose ropes or “sheets” on a ship. Three sheets meant instability and altered consciousness, while four meant unconsciousness and possible alcohol poisoning.
Among the euphemisms and colorful expressions used to describe extreme inebriation or drunkenness, the phrase three sheets in the wind often stands out as particularly curious. Some people may wonder why three sheets instead of one or two, and what does that have to do with overindulgence in alcohol. The answer lies in the history of boating.
The original expression was actually three sheets TO the wind, not TO the wind. In the sailing world, the word foil actually refers to a rope, not the sail it controls, although some nautical sources suggest the word once referred to the corners of a sail. Specifically, a sheet controls the horizontal movement of a sail, while other types of ropes keep the sails vertically or statically stable.
If a sheet comes loose or is set improperly, the sail can flap in the wind but the vessel will still be relatively steerable. Losing two sheets will make the sail too slow to maintain a straight course, but the captain may be able to compensate by rigging other sails. By the time three layers are to the wind, the ship will thrash and rock, much like a drunken sailor on leave. If four sheets are to the wind, the ship is practically dead in the water.
This is why a person in a drunken stupor would be accurately described as three sheets in the wind. He or she would be just as unstable and uncontrollable as a ship with three sheets fluttering uselessly in the breeze. The expression most likely began with sailors describing their state of public intoxication by the number of sheets they were missing.
Being a sheet in the wind meant being tipsy, but still able to perform essential work tasks. Two sheets would have meant he was clearly drunk, but still able to get back to the ship without assistance. Being three sheets in the wind meant extreme drunkenness, accompanied by instability and an altered state of consciousness. The worst case scenario would be four sheets in the wind, which usually meant total unconsciousness and possible alcohol poisoning.
Considering the nautical scale of public inebriation only goes four sheets, becoming three sheets to the wind after a night of wine, women and song may not be the best plan in the world. Cutting a sheet or two might be a safer bet for all concerned.
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