what is the origin of the phrase at sixes and sevens
At sixes and sevens An ancient dispute between the Merchant Taylors and Skinners livery companies is the probable origin of the phrase.[1] The two trade associations, both founded in the same year (1327[2]), argued over sixth place in the order of precedence. In 1484, after more than a century and a half of bickering, the Lord Mayor of London Sir Robert Billesden ruled that at the feast of Corpus Christi, the companies would swap between sixth and seventh place and feast in each other's halls. Nowadays, they alternate in precedence on an annual basis.[1][2]
To the nines The phrase is said to be Scots in origin.[2] The earliest written example of the phrase is from the 1719 Epistle to Ramsay by the Scottish poet William Hamilton: