<P> An ancient dispute between the Merchant Taylors and Skinners livery companies is the probable origin of the phrase . The two trade associations , both founded in the same year ( 1327 ) , 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 . </P>
<P> An ancient dispute between the Merchant Taylors and Skinners livery companies is the probable origin of the phrase . The two trade associations , both founded in the same year ( 1327 ) , 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 . </P>
where does the saying sixes and sevens come from
where does the saying sixes and sevens come from
Merchant Taylors and Skinners livery companies
Merchant Taylors and Skinners livery companies