Three Sheets to the Wind

A short time ago, I spent some time doing genealogy. It is very odd what a person discovers about their ancestry. There are many ancestors in my past that make me smile when I think of them, people that I never knew but that I am carrying their genes. Some of it is not surprising. Some of it is deep rooted down to the core and I somehow knew it without really ever having heard it. My mom's ancestry was done by another family member on her side of the family. He has done much more extensive research than I ever did. He has even collected photographs of ancestors dating back to early 1800 Scotland. I set out to find out more about my dad's side of the family as I essentially knew nothing about them. I was surprised to find that they were a most prolific bunch of people. It was nothing for their families to have 13 to 16 children. My original ancestor on my dad's side that came to this country came here from London as the captain of a ship carrying supplies to the new world. He never stayed but he did have a son that stayed and lived in Virginia.

This little creation is a tip of the hat to that ancestor. To say someone is 'three sheets to the wind' is to say that they are intoxicated. It is a nautical phrase. Sheets are not the sails but rather the ropes that secure the sails. If the sheets are unsecured, the sails are flapping. The ship is free to rock and roll. Therefore, sailors began to refer to wobbley, intoxicated behavior as being 'three sheets to the wind'. 'Three sheets' was very drunk. To be 'one sheet' was only slightly drunk. I think the ship in my creation has all of its sheets secured. It is setting sail for a new land.

Monday! Introducing...Sayings, proverbs and quotes!

Uh-huh, yeah, that is right...Monday is here. Have you ever read...probably not but I am going to ask it anyway...have you ever read The Oxford English Dictionary Unabridged? I do not mean have you ever looked up the origin of a word in it. I mean have you ever read it like a novel? I used to read it like that and people used to laugh at me for it. But honestly, it is awesome! It is the most interesting collection! First of all, you have to find a library that owns it and it does not come inexpensively. Then, when you locate the library, usually it is behind lock and key. Then, you have to ask to have a librarian to fetch the volume you are interested in which is no small physical feat. He/she will return with a quite large book that is usually put in a cradle or large book stand. After that, you can read until your little beating heart is quite content probably after you have surrendered all of your personal belongings so you cannot do harm to the book or try to leave with a page of it. It is compelling reading material, let me tell you. It is the definitive record of the English language. It marries my two loves...words + history = BLISS!!!! Now, you understand why I enjoyed reading it so much! It contains all of these fascinating tidbits like the first time ever recorded that a word was used, how it was used, when it was put into a phrase. You can find the original meanings to quotes. The OED is accessible online since 2000 but nothing replaces those volumes for me. I can spend hours pouring over the pages in its massive 20+ volumes.
Long story suddenly short...in the OED you can find things like this "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." What does that mean and why a bird? Why not a cat in the lap is worth two in the barn? The phrase is a medieval phrase. Training a bird of prey was a common sport in those days. It actually means to have a bird such as a hunting falcon which is a bird one would hold on the hand is a more valuable thing than to have the already captured prey of a falcon. In other words, having a likely valuable possibility is better than having a less valuable done deal. Today, the meaning is used in a slightly different fashion than its original intention. And that my friends concludes  the first edition of 'Sayings, proverbs and quotes'. Come here next Monday for another riveting installment!