Chrysti The Wordsmith: Dressed to the Nines

Greetings were lovers this is Christie the wordsmith. Someone dressed to the nines is nattily attired specially turned out putting on the dog. What's the story behind dressed to the nines and what does the numbers signify in this expression. Well it turns out that this synonym for smartly dressed is clothed in obscurity. No one can claim to know its inspiration the original expression may have been dressed to than I in an old English phrase meaning dressed to the eyes or properly outfitted from feet to eyes slurred the old English expression dress to than I could have been rendered dressed to the nine or nines or the number in this cliché may literally refer to the number nine the highest numeral before the digits begin to recycle. Nine is also mystically significant a trinity of trinities or three three if the spiritual perfection of the number is implied in dressed to the nines a fashion

bellwether is indeed flawlessly accoutred 9 as a numerical superlative appears and at least two other common English expressions the whole nine yards and on cloud nine. But word watchers can only guess at the significance and meaning of this number. From on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman. This is Christy the wordsmith. CHRISTIE The wordsmith a sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.