dressed (up) to the nines
idiom

- to be wearing fashionable or formal clothes for a special occasion

The Cambridge Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

After decades of debate, etymologists still cannot agree on the origin of this expression. According to Allen’s English Phrases, “to the nines” was first used to mean “perfection” in an 18th-century poem by Robert Burns. The Hotten’s Dictionary of Slang (1859) was the first work to list “to the nines” as it relates to dress.

Etymologist Walter Skeat suggested that it derives from another phrase “dressed to the eyes", which could have morphed into dressed to the nines. Still, all of this is pure speculation.

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MORE NINE-PHRASES

The number nine continues its mysterious etymological ways in two other phrases:

- the whole nine yards = completely, the whole thing (I cleaned out my desk and threw everything away - papers, pencils, business cards - the whole nine yards.)

- on cloud nine = very happy (When he heard that he was going to be a father, he was on cloud nine for days.)

- a nine day wonder  = a novelty that loses its appeal after a few days (Most fashion trends tend to be nine day wonders.)

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SYNONYMS

- elegant, smart, or stylish
- dressed in fancy clothing

à la mode, all decked out, all dolled up, chic, classy, de rigueur, dapper, DRESSED TO THE NINES, dressed to the teeth, dressed to kill, fancy-pants, fashionable, in vogue, in full feather, natty, ritzy, sassy, snappy, spiff, spiffed-up, spiffy, spruce, spruced up, well turned out

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Why is everyone DRESSED TO THE NINES? Are we expecting important visitors today?

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THANKS to Margrit for suggesting today’s word!

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Every month, the Smith-Family spends evening and weekend hours researching and writing your daily word.

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