Sports : Sixes and sevens, ties and the World Cup of illogical sports words

The Americans, said the sports announcer,were "at sixes and sevens" in the first half, but they made the match level in the second half.

Eh?

What?

Every time the World Cup comes on, I try to watch it, giving the world's favorite a sport half a chance to earn something besides my scorn.

But every year, the soccer players do enough silly things to restore my confidence in the future of baseball and football as America's favorite sports.

Even people who like soccer are laughing about the way players from virtually every team fall down and pretend to be hurt in an effort to get a referee to penalize the other team.

This scheme worked fantastically for the Ivory Coast against Brazil. One of the IC players ran into a Brazilian who was not even looking at him. He fell to the ground, holding his face, even though his face clearly never touched the other guy. The referee saw this and issued a yellow card to the Brazilian player.

But, for now, back to those 6s and 7s.

One good thing — in the view of this soccer non-lover, the only good thing — about the World Cup is the chance for Americans to learn how our language is corrupted in other countries, like England.

I had to google the English phrase "at sixes and sevens." I found out that it meant (as I had assumed) struggling, or not knowing what to do.

But why do English English speakers say that?

Nobody really knows. Maybe it's because of an old game they used to play. Maybe because of an old dice game. Maybe because of some book.

But they say it.

I have to admit, however, that we in America have our own nonsensicals when we talk about sports.

For example, a tie game.

Where did that phrase come from? What inspired us to say a game is tied?

Tied like a shoe string? A tie like a neck tie?

Nobody seems to know. I am at bloody sixes and sevens when I try to figure it out.