To the nines - wikipedia To the nines This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Aschuess ( talk contribs ) at 17 : 39, 15 June 2016 ( Remove hypothetical ). The present address ( URL ) is a permanent link to this version. Revision as of 17 : 39, 15 June 2016 by Aschuess ( talk contribs ) ( Remove hypothetical ) ( diff ) ← Previous revision Latest revision ( diff ) Newer revision → ( diff ) For other uses, see To the nines ( disambiguation ). `` To the nines '' is an English idiom meaning `` to perfection '' or `` to the highest degree '' or to dress `` buoyantly and high class ''. In modern English usage, the phrase most commonly appears as `` dressed to the nines '' or `` dressed up to the nines ''. Origin The phrase is said to be Scots in origin. The earliest written example of the phrase is from the 1719 Epistle to Ramsay by the Scottish poet William Hamilton : The bonny Lines therein thou sent me, How to the nines they did content me. Robert Burns ' `` Poem on Pastoral Poetry '', published posthumously in 1800, also uses the phrase : Thou paints auld nature to the nines, In thy sweet Caledonian lines. References Jump up ^ Evans, Bergen ; Corneli Evans ( 1957 ). A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage. Random House. p. 145. ^ Jump up to : `` ' Dressed to the nines ' comes from old Scottish phrase ''. Deseret News. April 13, 1997. Retrieved 13 November 2011. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=To_the_nines&oldid=725440888 '' Categories : English phrases Talk Article Talk More Contents About Wikipedia This page was last edited on 15 June 2016, at 17 : 39. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where does the phrase to the nines come from
Answer: Epistle to Ramsay by the Scottish poet William Hamilton