on sixe and sevene

== Middle English == === Alternative forms === at syx and seven (Late Middle English); on sex and seven (Late Middle English, West Riding) === Etymology === Presumably either an erroneous or exaggerated alteration of *on fyve and sixe or *on cynk and sys (using numerals borrowed from French; compare Middle Scots on cincq and syce), referring to the highest numbers of a dice. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɔn ˌsiks‿an(d) ˈsɛvnə/, /ɔn ˌsiks an(d) ˈsɛvən/ IPA(key): /ɔn ˌsɛks an(d) ˈsɛ̞ːvən/ (Northern) === Prepositional phrase === on sixe and sevene (idiomatic) At risk or in hazard; without regard (for). ==== Descendants ==== English: on six and seven, at six and seven (obsolete) ⇒ English: at sixes and sevens Middle Scots: on sax and sevin ==== References ==== “six, num.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007. “six, adj. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.