At sixes and sevens

成语“at sixes and sevens”意思有两个。

其一是指处于疑惑的和凌乱的（思想）状态，思绪杂乱, 头脑混乱；

其二是指不可调和的冲突和矛盾。

注：此成语是英国英语特有的口语用法。

起源:

这一短语的确切起源已难以追溯，因为它的形式和意义在过去九个世纪以来都已经发生很大变化。这句话最初是“to set on six and seven”，据信出自14世纪的骰子游戏。

例句:

星期一我脑子一片混乱，试图同时整理好新闻稿，打电话给记者并且邮寄样本。

On Monday I was in sixes and sevens trying to sort through a press release, make phone calls to journalists, and mail samples all at once.

好吧，“头脑混乱，茫然不识所措”我学到这个用语还是上次在布里斯托火车站的时候，我想它也忠实反映了我们许多人的旅行体验。

Well, “at sixes and sevens” I learned this term when last time I was in Bristol train station and it perfectly suited many of our travel experiences.

这个月的生意一团糟。

Business is at sixes and sevens this month.

鲍勃和比尔曾经是最好的朋友，但玛丽的到来让他们在整个夏天变成势如水火的死敌。

Bob and Bill were best friends, but the arrival of Mary set them at sixes and sevens for the whole summer.