nine

be dressed up to the nines (informal)

to be wearing very fashionable or formal clothes for a special occasion. They must have been on their way to a wedding or something. They were dressed up to the nines.

See also: dress

be on cloud nine (informal)

to be very happy. For a few days after I heard I'd got the job, I was on cloud nine.

See also: cloud

go the whole nine yards (American, informal)

to continue doing something dangerous or difficult until it is finished. The weather was terrible but I wanted to go the whole nine yards and get to the top of the mountain.

See also: whole, yard

nine times out of ten

almost always. Nine times out of ten when you're dreading an occasion it turns out to be perfectly all right.

See also: ten, times

a nine/one/seven-day wonder

someone or something that causes interest or excitement for a short period but is then quickly forgotten. His music was derided by an older generation convinced that he was a nine-day wonder.

See also: wonder

Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

something that you say which means that if you have something, it is difficult for other people to take it away from you. It would be hard to ask for the piano back after they've had it for so long. Possession is nine-tenths of the law and all that.

See also: law

A stitch in time (saves nine).

something that you say which means it is better to deal with a problem early before it gets too bad. If you don't repair the oil leak now, you might damage the whole engine. It's a case of a stitch in time.

See also: stitch, time

the whole nine yards (American, informal)

the whole of something, including everything that is connected with it. When I eat Mexican food, I like to have fajitas, bean dip, guacamole - the whole nine yards.

See also: whole, yard

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dressed to the nines

wearing very fashionable or expensive clothes. The door opened to reveal a small woman, dressed to the nines for an evening of partying.

See also: dress

nine times out of ten

almost always. When a company has to lay off workers, nine times out of ten women employees are the first to be fired.

See also: ten, times

on cloud nine

very happy. She just bought her first new car and she's on cloud nine.

See also: cloud

the whole nine yards

all of something, including everything connected with it. When you join the gym, they show you all the equipment, tell you how to use it, the whole nine yards. They rushed him to the emergency room with lights flashing, sirens wailing, a police escort, the whole nine yards.

Usage notes: often used in the phrase go the whole nine yards: So we moved to the suburbs and went the whole nine yards — we had two cars, a pool in the back yard, even cookouts in the backyard.Edited & trf from nine; 19.7 spoken corpus; very high percentage justifies label--SL, 8/02 / 9/02 -cb

See also: whole, yard