sheet [OE] English dictionaries usually recognize two words spelled sheet. The first, referring to items including bed coverings, paper, and glass, shares an ancient root with shoot, one sense of which was ‘to project’. Sheet could be used for something giving protection or an awning, which links the two senses. The second is nautical, and was distinct from the first in Old English, though they are ultimately related. Sheets are the ropes attached to the corners of a ship’s sail, used for controlling the extent and direction of the sail. If they are hanging loose in the wind, the vessel is likely to be out of control or taking an erratic course. This is the situation referred to in three sheets to the wind, meaning ‘very drunk’.