three sheets

three sheets to 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 to the wind. They had an open bar at the staff party, so we were all three sheets to the wind by the time we left.

See also: sheet, three, to, wind

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

three sheets

verb

See three sheets in the wind

See also: sheet, three

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

three sheets

to/in the wind Informal

Intoxicated; drunk.

See also: sheet, three

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.