We’ve just come through a season where I heard the phrase “dressed to the nines” used several times to refer to people who dressed very elegantly to attend holiday parties. As a lover of words, I began to wonder where that idiom came from and why we say “dressed to the nines” instead of to “the eights” or “the tens”? As often happens, curiosity sent me looking for answers!

There are several theories about the origin of the phrase. For example, one popular one says that it came from the nine yards of fabric that a tailor needed to make a suit. Apparently, however, a very nice three piece suit can actually be made from only four or five yards. The real origin of the saying is unknown, but it’s believed to have originated in the late 19th century. It’s most likely simply an extension of an earlier phrase, “to the nines”, which meant “perfectly” or “to the highest standard”. That phrase had been around since the 1700s, but its early use wasn’t specific to clothing.

There are actually several English idioms that include the number nine. A stitch in time saves nine, we go the whole nine yards, or perhaps we’re on cloud nine. There must be significance to the number, but that’s another rabbit trail that I won’t go down today! Regardless of its origin or the meaning of the number nine, “dressed to the nines” is commonly used to describe someone who is dressed to perfection and looks their absolute best.

New Year’s Eve is often a time to dress to the nines, but that certainly wasn’t me this year. While the final hours of the year often find us either on the dance floor or babysitting so that our adult children can enjoy the night out, this year was different. We enjoyed a quiet party for two at home. Since El Niño has gifted us with an unusually mild winter, we spent the early hours of the evening bundled up by our backyard firepit watching the last light of the year fade into darkness.

Later, we went indoors to watch a couple of movies, sip some wine and nibble on party food. I crawled into bed just as the clock struck twelve!

What about you? Did you “dress to the nines” and go out to celebrate the arrival of the New Year?