Help on idiom please

Question

I've googled and checked my Oxford Dictionary of Idioms to no avail. What does 'to sheet home' mean exactly? Could this be an idiom only found in an Australian context?
Eg. 1 - The Judge also held that his persistent 'bully-boy practice of industrial relations' was to be sheeted home to the Builders Labourers Federation ..
Eg. 2 - The current OH & S legislation seeks to sheet home to the employer criminal responsibility for death or injury in the workplace, notwithstanding the actions of others, simply because of the employment relationship.
Eg. 3 - To place this matter into perspective and sheet home the responsibility to the Government, ..
Can anybody please help? Thanks.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I've googled and checked my Oxford Dictionary of Idioms to no avail. What does 'to sheet home' mean exactly? Could this be an idiom only found in an Australian context?[/nq]
Working through Google I found a definition of the phrae "sheet home" at this site:
http://ladywashington.org/glossary.html
And here it is: "Sheet Home - 1) To haul the sheets of a sail all the way through their guiding blocks at the yardarms of the yard below, up to the clews, until they can go no further, so the sail may be used.
2) On the course sail, this means to haul on the leeward sheet untilthe sail is the optimum shape."
It doesn't appear to be Australian only.
[nq:1]Eg. 1 - The Judge also held that his persistent 'bully-boy practice of industrial relations' was to be sheeted home to the Builders Labourers Federation ..[/nq]
This appears to use "sheeted home" to mean nothing more than "assigned" or "attached." The writer didn't need a figure of speech that implies "getting it finished" or "getting it just right." But then, the sort of writer who would use such an obscure expression is probably more interested in using it frequently than in using it correctly.

Bob Lieblich
Eschewing scatological puns

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I've googled and checked my Oxford Dictionary of Idioms to no avail. What does 'to sheet home' mean exactly? Could ... employment relationship. Eg. 3 - To place this matter into perspective and sheet home the responsibility to the Government, ..[/nq]
Here are two literal definitions:
Sheet Home, To To haul the sheets of a sail home to the block on the yard-arm.
To sheet home (Naut.)
to haul upon a sheet until the sail is as flat, and the clew as near the wind, as possible.
And here are two more quotes:
While Jameson gives these books a good rap, his accompanying analysis is disappointing, however, this disappointment does not just sheet home to him, but is actually a characteristic of a great deal of contemporary theory and criticism.
Broad brush epidemiological studies measure long term changes in the health of the population but are unable to sheet home to any particular policy the positive or negative changes that are tracked.
It's new to me too, but I presume it means "narrow down the responsibility to" or "definitely assign the blame to" in the sense of removing any "slack" - i.e. uncertainty, or opportunity for evasion.

FWIW

Les

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I've googled and checked my Oxford Dictionary of Idioms to no avail. What does 'to sheet home' mean exactly? Could ... employment relationship. Eg. 3 - To place this matter into perspective and sheet home the responsibility to the Government, ..[/nq]
Here are two literal definitions:
1) "Sheet Home, To To haul the sheets of a sail home to the block on theyard-arm."
2) "To sheet home (Naut.)to haul upon a sheet until the sail is as flat, and the clew as near the wind, as possible."
And here are two more quotes:
1) "While Jameson gives these books a good rap, his accompanying analysis isdisappointing, however, this disappointment does not just sheet home to him, but is actually a characteristic of a great deal of contemporary theory and criticism."
2) "Broad brush epidemiological studies measure long term changes in thehealth
of the population but are unable to sheet home to any particular policy the positive or negative changes that are tracked."
It's new to me too, but I presume it means "narrow down the responsibility to" or "definitely assign the blame to" in the sense of removing any "slack" - i.e. uncertainty, or opportunity for evasion.

FWIW

Les

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I've googled and checked my Oxford Dictionary of Idioms to ... perspective and sheet home the responsibility to the Government, ..[/nq]
[nq:1]Here are two literal definitions: 1) "Sheet Home, To To haul the sheets of a sail home to the block ... to haul upon a sheet until the sail is as flat, and the clew as near the wind, as possible."[/nq]
To avoid possible confusion: in the nautical context a "sheet" is a "line" (a length of rope or chain).
[nq:1]And here are two more quotes: 1) "While Jameson gives these books a good rap, his accompanying analysis is disappointing, ... "definitely assign the blame to" in the sense of removing any "slack" - i.e. uncertainty, or opportunity for evasion. FWIW [/nq]
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

Usenet · Answer

Yes, I did find the nautical definition prior to posting. Thanks to all your replies. Its meaning is still as clear as mud for me to decipher exactly and transpose it into my mother language viz Chinese. I shall give it a stab the best I can.
Most of the Australian references seem to point to utterance by judges of courts, politicians in legislative assemblies, i.e. people with income sufficient to indulge in yauchting at least on the luxurious side.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Yes, I did find the nautical definition prior to posting. Thanks to allyour replies. Its meaning is still as clear ... courts, politicians in legislative assemblies, i.e. people with income sufficient to indulge in yauchting at least on the luxurious side.[/nq]
The likeliest synonym is is of course the verb "tighten." We recognize that all three of your examples use it as a metaphor: there are no ropes or sails in legislation. So you need to find whatever Chinese expression is used for this purpose, strict enforcement of a law or obedience to some order by a judge. If Chinese laws are not applied this way or Chinese judges do not have the powers cited in your examples, you may be obliged to find a Chinese metaphor that is equivalent.

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]..What does 'to sheet home' mean exactly? Could this be an idiom only found in an Australian context?[/nq]
I live in Australia and I sail, however I do not claim expertise on this matter (or anything

as the older I get the less I think I know relative to what's out there). I have not heard the expression before but immediately thought it most likely come from a sailing expression. We say "sheet in" and "ease out" to mean 'pull the sheet to bring a sail closer in' and 'let the sheet out to set the sail further out' respectively. (A sheet is the rope attached to the corner of a sail that allows adjustment closer in or further out while sailing, other ropes have other names eg halyard, brace, mooring line, topping lift, downhaul, kicker, tweaker, etc). However I have not heard "sheet home" -generally there's no marked 'home' because everything depends on lots of factors.
I agree with other posters' description of the nautical meaning. There's one more entry in my rather dated Oxford Dictionary, that is 'to deviate from course' eg 'to sheet off (away)' and 'to sheet off somebody I do not like'.
For the examples in the original post I would interpret it as 'to drive home (the fact that...)' or 'to point directly at'. In translation and interpretation one always has to use the best/closest the language has to the intended meaning and not necessarily the literal meaning.
[nq:1]i.e. people with income sufficient to indulge in yauchting at least on the luxurious side.[/nq]
We were just bemoaning the other day the public perception of yachting (please note the spelling), while we were drinking rationed water, washing dishes with sea water, wiping body with damp cloth instead of showering, eating a piece of dry Weetbix or a banana for breakfast, going without lunch, taking a box of cereal to eat as dinner in bed/bunk, not changing clothes for days, working watches of 4 hours and sleeping 4 hours, making sure no crumbs or bits of food get wasted, etc etc etc. It was not luxury living to be envious by anybody. Also it is more like 'instead of buying a new shirt or pair of shoes or a new electronic gadget a yachtie gets a sail repaired or the engine fixed. Yes, there are other types of luxurious yachting...

Cheers
Solo Thesailor
http://sailingstoriesandtips.blogspot.com

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]To avoid possible confusion: in the nautical context a "sheet" is a "line" (a length of rope or chain).[/nq]
Peter, I've sailed all my life and I've never heard of a sheet so loosely defined as that. A sheet (on a modern sailing yacht or dinghy) is a sail control line. Specifically, the line that allows you to set the angle of attack to the wind. That is, the line that hauls in (or lets out) the boom relative to the centerline of the boat and on the jib (and other loose-footed sails, such as gennakers, spinnakers and staysails) allows you to control how far aft the clew is pulled, depending on how close to the wind you want to sail. And I can't even imagine a "chain" sheet. (Hard on the hands, that.)

But I'm willing to learn otherwise, if you can offer an example.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]..What does 'to sheet home' mean exactly? Could this be an idiom only found in an Australian context?[/nq]
[nq:1]I live in Australia and I sail, however I do not claim expertise on this matter (or anything

as ... etc). However I have not heard "sheet home" -generally there's no marked 'home' because everything depends on lots of factors.[/nq]
I don't live in Australia but I also sail, and it seems that I have heard this expression before (perhaps even used it!) without analyzing it.
The meaning that I would have ascribed to it is "pull it tight and cleat it". But for the life of me I can't say why...
[nq:1]I agree with other posters' description of the nautical meaning. There's one more entry in my rather dated Oxford Dictionary, ... one always has to use the best/closest the language has to the intended meaning and not necessarily the literal meaning.[/nq]
[nq:2]i.e. people with income sufficient to indulge in yauchting at least on the luxurious side.[/nq]
[nq:1]We were just bemoaning the other day the public perception of yachting (please note the spelling), while we were drinking ... electronic gadget a yachtie gets a sail repaired or the engine fixed. Yes, there are other types of luxurious yachting...[/nq]
Sounds like a little slice of heaven to me.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]To avoid possible confusion: in the nautical context a "sheet" is a "line" (a length of rope or chain).[/nq]
[nq:1]Peter, I've sailed all my life and I've never heard of a sheet so loosely defined as that. A sheet ... a "chain" sheet. (Hard on the hands, that.) But I'm willing to learn otherwise, if you can offer an example.[/nq]
Yes. I was simply making the point for the benefit of the OP and the casual reader that a sheet in this context is not the more generally familiar type of sheet of paper, on a bed, whatever.

I did not actually state that all lines in a nautical context are sheets.

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

Help on idiom please

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