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‘Three sheets to the wind’: how everyday phrases blew in from the sea

05.12.2025 08:00 | The Guardian World

From ‘all at sea’ to ‘by and large’, windy weather has had quite an impact on the English languageSome everyday expressions have an obvious nautical origin such as “all at sea” and “an even keel”. But plenty of others have slipped into the language unnoticed, including a number derived from how sailors talked about the wind.Surprisingly, “overbearing” was originally a nautical term, meaning having an advantage over another ship by carrying more canvas safely and so being able to sail faster. The expression came to be used metaphorically to describe an approaching storm or anything else that could not be outrun. Similarly to “bear down” on something was to approach forcefully with the wind behind. Continue reading...

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