retire@40
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2004
- Messages
- 2,670
I hear people come up with some euphemisms to explain something, but I often wonder where the euphemism came from and its original meaning.
For example, yesterday I was talking to someone who said, "she was dressed to the nines." In looking up that meaning I found one source that says it originated from sailing ships coming to harbor when all nine sails were up and the sailors were dressed in their best uniforms. Another source said it originated from a time in the 18th or 19th century when women would wear long gloves with nine buttons at fancy events. Maybe nobody really knows the true origin, but these euphemisms take on a certain meaning of their own over time.
For example, yesterday I was talking to someone who said, "she was dressed to the nines." In looking up that meaning I found one source that says it originated from sailing ships coming to harbor when all nine sails were up and the sailors were dressed in their best uniforms. Another source said it originated from a time in the 18th or 19th century when women would wear long gloves with nine buttons at fancy events. Maybe nobody really knows the true origin, but these euphemisms take on a certain meaning of their own over time.