three sheets

Sailor's term: wasted

Three sheets, short for "three sheets to the wind," means very drunk.

The phrase comes from sailing, where sheets are ropes controlling sails—if three came loose, the ship would lurch unpredictably, like a staggering drunk: He was three sheets by midnight.

Sometimes used with varying degrees: two sheets to the wind for moderately drunk.

intoxicated

tipsy

Mildly intoxicated

plastered · hammered · wasted · blotto · sozzled · drunk · soused · tanked · smashed · besotted

nautical

sail

Ship's wind-catching fabric

  • riggingRopes controlling ship sails
  • mastVessel's sail support
  • windAir current outdoors

halyard · jib · mainsheet · vessel · mariner · seafarer · helm · starboard · port · bow

unsteady

wobble

Unsteady side-to-side motion

sway · stumble · reel · weave · totter · listing · slurring · swaying · careening · reeling

Categories
Opposites
sobriety/intoxication level

three sheetssober

Free from intoxication

teetotal · sober as a judge · dry · on the wagon · clean

self-control/composure

three sheetscomposed

Calm and self-possessed

in control · lucid · steady · sharp · alert

Family

three, sheet, sheets, thrice, thirds, thirdly, threefold, thirteen, thirty

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG