IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishdress to the nines
Meaning: To dress very smartly or elaborately.
Example: “Everyone was dressed to the nines for the gala.”
Origin: "To the nines" meant to perfection before clothes came into it: a Scottish poem of 1719 has "How to the Nines they did content me." "Dressed to the nines" is in print by the 1830s. Why nine is unknown, and the popular story of a smartly dressed 99th Regiment is later than the phrase.
Equivalents in other languages
French: Se mettre sur son trente-et-un Literally: To put oneself on one's thirty-one
More English idioms
- with one hand tied behind one's back Very easily; or, when forced on someone, at a great disadvantage.
- have a heart of gold To be very kind and generous.
- be full of beans To be lively and full of energy.
- set alarm bells ringing To make someone suspect that something is wrong.
- get back on one's feet To recover after an illness or a setback.
- throw the baby out with the bathwater To discard something valuable while getting rid of what is unwanted.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.
- The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick. Believed by Guinness to be among the hardest in English — 'six/sick/sheikh/sheep' blur in…
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
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