At sixes and sevens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To be "at sixes and sevens" is an English phrase and idiom, common in the United Kingdom. It is used to describe a state of confusion or disarray. The similar phrase "to set the world at six and seven", used by Geoffrey Chaucer, seems, from its context, to mean "to hazard the world" or "to risk one's life"[1].
There are several other possible explanations, including one mention of a similar phrase with a different meaning in the Bible (Job 5:19). However, one of the more interesting possibilities is that it may have come from a dispute between the Merchant Taylors' and Skinners' Livery Companies. The two, which were founded in the same year, argued over sixth place in the order of precedence. After more than a century, it was decided that at Easter, the companies would swap between sixth and seventh and feast in each others' halls. This is unlikely to be the origin of the phrase, as Chaucer had used it over a century before, but could well have helped to popularise it.
Most likely, the term derives from a complicated dice game called "hazard". It is thought that the expression was originally "to set on cinque and sice" (from the French numerals for five and six). These are the riskiest numbers to shoot for (“to set on”), and anyone who tried for them was considered careless or confused.
(Compare with the Chinese phrase 乱七八糟 luanqibazao, with similar meaning, but instead uses the numbers seven and eight.)
