E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Out of Sorts.
Indisposed, in bad spirits. The French locution is rather remarkable—Ne pas être dans son assiette. “To sort” is to arrange in order, “a sort” is one of the orders so sorted.”
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Out of sorts. In printers’ language, means not having sufficient of some particular letter, mark, or figure.
