What does at sixes and sevens mean?
Definitions for at sixes and sevens
at sixes and sev·ens
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word at sixes and sevens.
Wiktionary
at sixes and sevensadjective
In a state of confusion.
at sixes and sevensadjective
In a state of dispute or disagreement.
Etymology: though it may have originated from the game of hazard and the cinc and sis, the riskiest numbers to shoot for, which were misheard and folk-etymologized into English as "six" and "seven".
Wikipedia
At Sixes and Sevens
At Sixes and Sevens is the debut studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Sirenia, and their only album featuring the vocals of French singer Fabienne Gondamin. The woman on the cover is a Norwegian model, picked by the designer to represent a Siren.
Wikidata
At sixes and sevens
To be "at sixes and sevens" is a British English idiom used to describe a state of confusion or disarray. The phrase probably derives from a complicated dice game called "hazard." It is thought that the expression was originally "to set on cinq and six". These are the riskiest numbers to shoot for, and those who tried for them were considered careless or confused. A similar phrase, "to set the world on six and seven," is used by Geoffrey Chaucer in his Troilus and Criseyde. It dates from the mid-1380s and seems from its context to mean "to hazard the world" or "to risk one's life." It is possible that an ancient dispute between the Merchant Taylors' and Skinners' Livery Companies may have helped to popularise the phrase. The two trade associations, founded in the same year, argued over sixth place in the order of precedence. In 1484, after more than a century of bickering, the Lord Mayor of London Sir Robert Billesden decided that at the feast of Corpus Christi the companies would swap between sixth and seventh place and feast in each others' halls. Nowadays they alternate in precedence on an annual basis. The phrase bears comparison with the Chinese phrase qi shang ba xia, which has a similar meaning but instead uses the numbers seven and eight. The literal translation is "seven on top, eight underneath."
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of at sixes and sevens in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of at sixes and sevens in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2
Translations for at sixes and sevens
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- چھٹے اور سیون میںUrdu
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"at sixes and sevens." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/at+sixes+and+sevens>.
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