Idiom
dressed to the nines
Meaning
Very fancily or formally dressed; wearing very showy or splendid clothing.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Everyone at the party was dressed to the nines.”
“Since it was a formal wedding, she made sure to be dressed to the nines in her best silk gown.”
“The guests arrived at the gala dressed to the nines, their expensive jewelry sparkling under the bright lights of the grand ballroom.”
Examples
simple
“Everyone at the party was dressed to the nines.”
contextual
“Since it was a formal wedding, she made sure to be dressed to the nines in her best silk gown.”
complex
“The guests arrived at the gala dressed to the nines, their expensive jewelry sparkling under the bright lights of the grand ballroom.”
Origin
From *dressed* + *to the nines*. The construction was first recorded in the 1800s.
Key words
Related idioms
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