What is the meaning of the idiom dressed to the nines?
to perfection
“To the nines” is an English idiom meaning “to perfection” or “to the highest degree”. In modern English usage, the phrase most commonly appears as “dressed to the nines” or “dressed up to the nines”.
What’s the origin of Dressed to the nines?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded instance of dressing to the nines was in the 1859 Dictionary of Slang, by John Camden Hotten where it states: “’dressed up to the nines’, in a showy or recherché manner.”
Is dressed to the nines a metaphor?
The precise analogy is no longer known. “Kill” may allude to the idea of making a conquest, or perhaps it is an extension of something “done to death”—that is, overdone. Dressed to the nines, also put as dressed up to the nines, is British in origin and literally means elaborately dressed to perfection.
What is another way to say dressed to the nines?
What is another word for dressed to the nines?
| soignée | dressed to kill |
|---|---|
| in full feather | spiffed up |
| spruced up | well-dressed |
| formal | dressed up |
| ornate | in one’s best bib and tucker |
What is a kit and kaboodle?
kit and caboodle in American English kit and boodle. informal (often prec. by whole) the whole lot of persons or things; all of something. We took along the whole kit and caboodle in the station wagon.
Where did the saying drink like a fish come from?
The phrase originates in 1640 in the literary work of Fletcher and Shirley in the book titled ‘The night walker, or the little thiefe’. This was made popular in 2005 by a biological brewery in China who claimed that their fermentation was so good that they could turn fish into wine.
Where did the saying sixes and sevens come from?
The term at sixes and sevens goes back at least to the 1300s. Originally, the phrase was rendered on six and seven, and referred to a dice game where throwing on a six or seven meant risking one’s entire fortune. Until the 1600s, on sixes and sevens meant to take a careless risk.
What does dressed to the nines mean and where did it come from?
This expression was used to indicate perfection, the highest standards and doesn’t relate to clothing. That was in use in the 18th century, well before ‘dressed to the nines’ was first used, as in this example from William Hamilton’s Epistle to Ramsay, 1719: The bonny Lines therein thou sent me, In private to the Nine.
Where did the saying the whole ball of wax come from?
The whole ball of wax is an American idiom of uncertain origin, so far it has been traced back to at least the 1880s. Many apocryphal stories have sprung up to explain the origin of the phrase the whole ball of wax, but it is most likely a mondegreen of the idiom the whole bailiwick, meaning the whole territory.
What is the definition of put a sock in it?
informal. —used to tell someone to stop talking I wish someone would tell him to put a sock in it.