201:
332:, when Miss One gives Dorothy the silver slippers and comments, "Oh, don't be all sixes and sevens, honey" to Dorothy as Dorothy is in a state of confusion after killing the Wicked Witch of the East. In the movie Shaft, starring Richard Roundtree, a blind newspaper vendor replies with “Same old sixes and sevens”. It is also found in the 1993 film
160:(1919), entitled "The Story and Aim of the Outline of History", he writes: "All the people who were interested in these league of nations projects were at sixes and sevens among themselves because they had the most vague, heterogenous and untidy assumptions about what the world of men was, what it had been, and therefore of what it could be."
120:
Sir Robert
Billesden decided that the companies would swap between sixth and seventh place on an annual basis. This story is disproved as a source, according to Quinion, by the "brute force of the evidence" that the phrase was in use and that it occurred in Chaucer a century before the trade guild
147:(1878), where Captain Corcoran, the ship's Commander, is confused as to what choices to make in his life, and exclaims in the opening song of Act II, "Fair moon, to thee I sing, bright regent of the heavens, say, why is everything either at sixes or at sevens?"
133:
to describe the current state of
Secularism in England: “And I can show you by extracts from the writings of the leading men that there is no single point upon which they are agreed; that they are all at sixes and sevens one with another- (laughter)..”
413:
Is
Secularism the True Gospel for Mankind? Verbatim Report of a Debate, Held in the Town Hall, Bately on Monday and Tuesday Evenings, June 18th and 19th, 1877, Between G.W. Foote, and George Sexton, M.A., LL.D. (London, 1878), p.
99:
Quinion notes a false but "widely believed" story on "where the phrase at sixes and sevens came from, and what it really means". It is sometimes said to derive from a dispute between two City of London trade guilds or
129:
In a public debate in June 1877 the former secularist, communist, spiritualist and then reconvert, the Rev. Dr. George Sexton (1825-1898), used the phrase in a debate with the secularist
73:(from the French numerals for five and six). These were apparently the most risky numbers to shoot for ('to set on') and anyone who tried for them was considered careless or confused."
344:
by Mike Myers' character Austin Powers to his dad, who at the time were speaking "English
English": "oh, the one who was all sixes and sevens?" In the third episode of season one of
173:
the maid, Ellen, says, "Anyhow, it was all at sixes and sevens for a day or two, and then her ladyship shuts herself up in her room and won't let me go into her wardrobe."
348:, Carmela states that her anxiety over planning a fundraiser has her "at sixes and sevens." During the second episode of season five of the HBO series
105:
222:
396:
292:
248:
445:
287:
226:
109:
334:
275:
187:"The whole world's at sixes and sevens, and why the house hasn't fallen down about our ears long ago is a miracle to me."
69:, a British etymologist, writing on his website on linguistics, says, "It is thought that the expression was originally
350:
86:. It dates from the mid-1380s and seems from its context to mean "to hazard the world" or "to risk one's life".
211:
230:
215:
156:
182:
138:
117:
82:
96:(around 1595), "But time will not permit: all is uneven, And every thing is left at six and seven".
87:
24:
354:, George uses the phrase to describe his wife's attitude towards him. In the Oscar nominated film
316:
400:
425:
170:
165:
92:
77:
37:
296:
280:
177:
143:
66:
328:
113:
101:
20:
311:
was entitled "All 6's and 7's". The song "Sixes and Sevens" was cowritten and sung by
439:
320:
304:
263:
56:
345:
312:
268:
200:
151:
130:
382:
340:
300:
51:
It is not known for certain, but the most likely origin of the phrase is the
308:
52:
76:
A similar phrase, "to set the world on six and seven", is used by
60:
40:
271:, Clegg says, "she had me all at sixes and sevens that evening".
356:
360:, Marion Davies uses the phrase to describe her mental state.
194:
43:
used to describe a condition of confusion or disarray.
176:
The phrase occurs in Sabina's opening monologue from
59:", a more complicated version of the modern game of
397:"Troilus and Criseyde - Book 4, Lines 621-623"
274:The phrase appears in a few songs, including "
8:
229:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
326:The phrase is also used in the 1978 movie
377:
375:
373:
249:Learn how and when to remove this message
112:. The two argued over sixth place in the
338:. It is also mentioned in the 2002 film
383:"World Wide Words: At sixes and sevens"
369:
7:
227:adding citations to reliable sources
180:'s 1942 Pulitzer Prize winning play
429:. Victor Gollancz Ltd. (1926) p. 57
285:"Happy Endings" from the 1977 film
323:" ("sixes and sevens and nines").
14:
303:. The eleventh studio album from
199:
399:. 12 June 2008. Archived from
1:
299:; and "Playing With Fire" by
163:In chapter three of the 1926
293:Raoul and the Kings of Spain
462:
276:Don't Cry for Me Argentina
18:
90:uses a similar phrase in
71:to set on cinque and sice
106:Merchant Taylors Company
47:Origin and early history
446:English-language idioms
335:The Remains of the Day
157:The Outline of History
139:Gilbert & Sullivan
137:The phrase is used in
315:. It also appears in
183:The Skin of Our Teeth
121:dispute was decided.
16:British English idiom
223:improve this section
118:Lord Mayor of London
83:Troilus and Criseyde
278:" from the musical
114:order of precedence
88:William Shakespeare
34:At sixes and sevens
26:At Sixes and Sevens
423:Sayers, Dorothy.
317:the Rolling Stones
288:New York, New York
426:Clouds of Witness
259:
258:
251:
171:Dorothy L. Sayers
166:Clouds of Witness
154:' preface to his
19:For the album by
453:
430:
421:
415:
411:
405:
404:
393:
387:
386:
379:
254:
247:
243:
240:
234:
203:
195:
110:Skinners Company
102:livery companies
78:Geoffrey Chaucer
461:
460:
456:
455:
454:
452:
451:
450:
436:
435:
434:
433:
422:
418:
412:
408:
395:
394:
390:
381:
380:
371:
366:
297:Tears for Fears
255:
244:
238:
235:
220:
204:
193:
178:Thornton Wilder
144:H.M.S. Pinafore
141:'s comic opera
127:
116:. In 1484, the
67:Michael Quinion
49:
30:
17:
12:
11:
5:
459:
457:
449:
448:
438:
437:
432:
431:
416:
406:
403:on 2008-06-12.
388:
368:
367:
365:
362:
351:Six Feet Under
257:
256:
207:
205:
198:
192:
189:
126:
123:
48:
45:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
458:
447:
444:
443:
441:
428:
427:
420:
417:
410:
407:
402:
398:
392:
389:
384:
378:
376:
374:
370:
363:
361:
359:
358:
353:
352:
347:
343:
342:
337:
336:
331:
330:
324:
322:
321:Tumbling Dice
318:
314:
310:
306:
305:Strange Music
302:
298:
294:
290:
289:
284:
282:
277:
272:
270:
266:
265:
264:The Collector
253:
250:
242:
232:
228:
224:
218:
217:
213:
208:This section
206:
202:
197:
196:
190:
188:
186:
184:
179:
174:
172:
168:
167:
161:
159:
158:
153:
148:
146:
145:
140:
135:
132:
124:
122:
119:
115:
111:
107:
103:
97:
95:
94:
89:
85:
84:
79:
74:
72:
68:
64:
62:
58:
54:
46:
44:
42:
39:
35:
28:
27:
22:
424:
419:
409:
401:the original
391:
355:
349:
346:The Sopranos
339:
333:
327:
325:
313:Robert Plant
286:
279:
273:
262:
260:
245:
236:
221:Please help
209:
181:
175:
164:
162:
155:
149:
142:
136:
128:
98:
91:
81:
75:
70:
65:
50:
33:
31:
25:
269:John Fowles
152:H. G. Wells
131:G. W. Foote
364:References
341:Goldmember
307:front man
301:Stereo MCs
267:(1963) by
239:March 2024
191:Modern use
93:Richard II
309:Tech N9ne
210:does not
125:Later use
53:dice game
440:Category
319:' song "
108:and the
36:" is an
329:The Wiz
295:" from
231:removed
216:sources
80:in his
38:English
21:Sirenia
57:hazard
23:, see
281:Evita
104:–The
61:craps
41:idiom
357:Mank
214:any
212:cite
414:23.
291:; "
261:In
225:by
169:by
150:In
63:.
442::
372:^
385:.
283:;
252:)
246:(
241:)
237:(
233:.
219:.
185::
55:"
32:"
29:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.