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Nines probably refers to canines, which are the sharp teeth in the front of your mouth, and so basically that means you're wearing a lot.
But is more likely to have been reference to 'Liverymen' belonging to the 'Salters' Livery Company who were merchants supplying salts and chemicals. This is one of the original twelve companies within the square mile of the city of London. Other references to livery companies were: at sixes and sevens which referred to two companies who were listed either at number six or number seven when their listing was in confusion.
The Salters Company was number nine in the original list of twelve. The author wonders if those seen to entering the livery building for one of their banquets could have been looked at as putting on a show of extreme wealth and commercial success in an attempt to out do other liveries. Perhaps whenever a person is seen to be overdressed they may have been referred to as 'Dressed to the Nines' and another even older term 'he's worth his salt' which was an early form of payment because of its value. A Salters liveryman would certainly be thought of as earning his salt and would no doubt dress the part.
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To be elaborately dressed is to be dressed to the?
dressed to the nines dressed to the nines dressed to the nines ===== dressed to the hilt dressed to kill
What is the verb in this sentence Jennifer is dressed in a red jumper?
Actually the verb phrase would be is dressed. Is is a form of be and dressed is the main verb since it is the last verb in the verb phrase. Is is the helper verb.
Where did Dressed to the sevens come from?
I believe it is a spin-off of the term "dressed to the nines" which means to be very fashionably dressed. Being "dressed to the sevens" is a term made popular by ads for the new Tide Total Care detergent which show the seven signs of beautiful clothes and it implies that you can look your very best on an everyday level.
Where does the phrase dressed to the nines come from?
My understanding is that this phrase originated in Europe in the middle ages. during battle knights would wear a full suit of armour. prior to the battle, the intricate overlapping armour would be assembled onto the knight by his armourer and pages. once the armour was installed, usually after a substantial period of time, the armourer would usually inform the knight, "my lord, you are dressed to kill" hope this helps Kim
What is the origin of the phrase ram page?
There is no such phrase. There is a word rampage. It is of Scottish origin, perhaps from RAMP, to rear up.
What part of speech is dressed to the nines?
The phrase "dressed to the nines" is an adjective. It means to be very well dressed.
To be elaborately dressed is to be dressed to the?
dressed to the nines dressed to the nines dressed to the nines ===== dressed to the hilt dressed to kill
To be elaborately dressed is to be ' dressed to the what?
nines
What are some Phrases from the Victorian age?
Dressed to the nines
What does jacked to the nines mean?
I cannot find this phrase in a slang dictionary. There is a phrase 'dressed to the nines,' which means decked out in your best clothes. There is also a slang term 'jacked,' which can either be a short form of 'hijacked' (He jacked my seat when I got up to go the bathroom) or can mean muscled-up or pumped.
What is origin of dressed to the nines?
Although the general consensus to the origin of "Dressed to the Nines" is unknown; consider the meaning to be simply a reference of scale. " On a scale of one to ten; you are dressed to the nines" Since perfection can never be attained, nine would be the absolute best. The plural version on nine "Nines" is nothing more than people trying to make more of the number nine and fractionalizing it for further impact. With this definition in mind, every use of the term would make sense.The phrases 'to the nines', or 'to the nine', were used to indicate perfection - the highest standards. That was in use in the 18th century, as here from William Hamilton's Epistle to Ramsay, 1719:How to the nines they did content me.In fact, the earliest reference of "to the nine" may not have been "to the nine" at all. A phrase similar to "to the nine" appears in a translation of Voyages de Jehan de Mandeville chevalier, which appeared anonymously in France circa 1357 and is attributed to Sir John Mandeville. In the English translation of this work is found the line:Sir king! ye shall have war without peace, and always to the nine degree, ye shall be in subjection of your enemies, and ye shall be needy of all goods.The original work was written in Anglo-Norman French and is much translated. Whether the 'to the nine' is a literal translation from the original or whether it was added by translators later, and possibly as late as 1900, isn't clear. It doesn't seem likely that the phrase existed in English as early as the 14th century, not to appear again in print until the 18th century.However, it should be noted that the French word for the number nine is neuf, but neuf is also the French word meaning "new" in the sense of being brand new. It is therefore possible that when translating the passage above, the correct literary translation might have been:Sir king! ye shall have war without peace, and always to the newest degree, ye shall be in subjection of your enemies, and ye shall be needy of all goods.In this case "to the newest degree" would refer to facing an enemy with the latest, never before seen weapons and strategies for war. Therefore, it could have been a simple translation error that led to the expression "to the nine."'To the nines' has now gone out of use and only persists in the more specific 'dressed to the nines' (or sometimes 'dressed up to the nines').Dressed to the nines, or dressed up to the ninesare merely a version of the phrase that is applied to clothing. That is first cited in John C. Hotten's A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words, 1859 as:DRESSED UP TO THE NINES', in a showy 'recherché' manner.Many theories abound as to what prompted the phrase to be used in reference to dress. The fact that the prior phrase to the nines had been in existence for at least 150 years before we see dressed to the nines makes it obvious that the derivation of the variant version of the phrase need have had no connection with the number nine.Despite this, various attempts have been made to guess at the origin. One has it that tailors used nine yards of material to make a suit (or according to some authors a shirt). The more material you had the more status, although nine yards seems generous even for a fop.Another commonly repeated explanation comes from the reportedly smart uniforms of the The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) 99th Foot, which was raised in 1824.The problem with these explanations is that they come with zero hard evidence to support them, apart from a reference to the number nine (or even 99, which seems to be stretching the cloth rather thinly). The regiment was raised in the early 19th century, which is the right sort of date for the phrase to begin to be used in the middle of that century. It is at least plausible that the to the nines phrase was matched with the 99 of the regiment's name to and reputation to coin dressed to the nines.As we have seen ad nauseam with similar attempts to explain "the whole nine yards," there are many things that come in groups of nine. Almost anything associated with the number has been at some point put forward as the origin of this phrase. The fact is, we aren't sure.While no one knows the origin of 'to the nines' it is worth noting that nine has been used as a superlative in other contexts. Classical mythology gave us the nine Muses of arts and learning. The Nine Worthies were drawn from the mythology, history and the Bible. This distinguished group was Joshua, David, Judas Maccabæus, Hector, Alexander, Julius Cæsar, Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon.We also have the nine days' wonder. Also known as a 'ninety-day wonder' for quickened passage of rank-rising military officers in times of war.All of the above would have been well-known when this phrase was coined. A more recent link between nine and excellence is 'cloud nine'. A further reference and possibly the origin is found in Naval uniforms. Uniforms are always referred to by numbers. The number 9 uniform or "Number Nines" has changed in definition over time and in some cases has been described as canvas like material as stiff as boards, and at others as "9's: White front and white shorts, worn with white top cap. Equivalent of 3's in whites ".A further description is [No 9 : White Dress, single breasted fully buttoned white tunic, white top cap, white shoes, medals] The U.S Navy does not use this system.
What is the origin of the expression dressed to kill?
This phrase dates from the 1800's. "To kill" refers to the idea of a large degree or a large amount, as in the amount of something it would take to kill you. Dressed FIT TO kill means that you're so well dressed it's going to kill whoever looks at you.
What is the origin of Best Bib?
"Best bib and tucker" is an idiomatic expression originating in the 18th century, referring to one being dressed in their finest clothes. The phrase was commonly used in rural areas to describe someone who was dressed up for a special occasion.
What is the verb in this sentence Jennifer is dressed in a red jumper?
Actually the verb phrase would be is dressed. Is is a form of be and dressed is the main verb since it is the last verb in the verb phrase. Is is the helper verb.
Where did Dressed to the sevens come from?
I believe it is a spin-off of the term "dressed to the nines" which means to be very fashionably dressed. Being "dressed to the sevens" is a term made popular by ads for the new Tide Total Care detergent which show the seven signs of beautiful clothes and it implies that you can look your very best on an everyday level.
What is the origin of the phrase eat you?
There is no such phrase as "eat you".
Where does the phrase dressed to the nines come from?
My understanding is that this phrase originated in Europe in the middle ages. during battle knights would wear a full suit of armour. prior to the battle, the intricate overlapping armour would be assembled onto the knight by his armourer and pages. once the armour was installed, usually after a substantial period of time, the armourer would usually inform the knight, "my lord, you are dressed to kill" hope this helps Kim
