What does it mean to be 'dressed to the nines' and where did this phrase originate?

Question

I often see this phrase in books. Most recently I saw it in "Puss n'Cahoots" a Mrs. Murphy mystery by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown and in a late chapter of Turn Coat by Jim Butcher where his title character, Harry Dresden, said something along the lines of 'while most wizards take themselves seriously enough to dress to the nines, Ebenezar McCoy was wearing a pair of farmer's overalls...' or something like that.

Update:

Luminous, your answer was pretty much the same as jillpill's answer, since it was pretty much taken verbatim from the souce jillpill posted.

luminous · Accepted Answer

One prevailing theory concerning the origin of "dressed to the nines" surrounds the significance of the number nine. Some sources believe that the number 9 possessed a spiritual or cultural strength, much like the numbers 3,7 or 13 do today. For example, there were nine Muses said to inspire mankind's pursuit of the arts. If someone were described as "dressed to the nines", it could have been an outfit capable of impressing the nine Muses. The expression "to the nines" was actually in popular use before "dressed to the nines" came into vogue. It's entirely possible that the reference was meant as a tribute to the Muses or other significant figures

Anonymous · Answer

I think it has to do with purchasing the "full nine yards" of cloth, way back when, when someone was to be making a dress.

Sal Monella · Answer

It means dressed up very fancy. I don't know the entomology, try WikiPedia.

jilllpilll · Answer

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-origin-of-the-term-dressed-to-the-nines.htm

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What does it mean to be 'dressed to the nines' and where did this phrase originate?

4 Answers