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- Dressed to the Nines
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- Chrysti M. Smith
The "nines" in the expression "dressed to the nines" may literally be the number nine, mystically significant as the perfect number, a trinity of trinities. Or "nines" may be a corruption of the Old English word for eyes, "eyen." This Chrysti the Wordsmith installation fleshes out the several stories behind the origin of this phrase.
"Chrysti the Wordsmith" two-minute weekday modules are produced at KGLT Montana
State University- Bozeman, and broadcast in Montana and Wyoming on
Yellowstone Public Radio and Montana Public Radio, and internationally
on the Armed Forces Radio and TV Network.
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
The "nines" in the expression "dressed to the nines" may literally be the number nine, mystically significant as the perfect number, a trinity of trinities. Or "nines" may be a corruption of the Old English word for eyes, "eyen." This Chrysti the Wordsmith installation fleshes out the several stories behind the origin of this phrase. "Chrysti the Wordsmith" two-minute weekday modules are produced at KGLT Montana State University- Bozeman, and broadcast in Montana and Wyoming on Yellowstone Public Radio and Montana Public Radio, and internationally on the Armed Forces Radio and TV Network.
Broadcast History
"Chrysti the Wordsmith" two-minute weekday modules are produced at KGLT Montana
State University- Bozeman, and broadcast in Montana and Wyoming on
Yellowstone Public Radio and Montana Public Radio, and internationally
on the Armed Forces Radio and TV Network.
Transcript
Dressed to the Nines
Someone dressed to the nines is nattily attired, spiffily turned out, putting on the dog. What’s the story behind dressed to the nines, and what does the number signify in this expression?
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 the eyen, eyen being the Old English plural of eye. This gives us the phrase dressed to the eyes, or completely and properly accoutered.
Or the nine included in this cliché may literally refer to the number nine, the highest numeral before the digits begin to recycle. Nine is mystically significant; a trinity of trinities, or “three threes.” If the spiritual perfection of the number is implied in dressed to the nines, a fashion bellwether might feel regal indeed.
Nine as a numerica...
Read the full transcript
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