in the altogether

Idioms  

1. Also,; in the raw. Naked, nude, as in The art class wanted a model to pose in the altogether, or She was stripped to the buff when the doorbell rang, or He always sleeps in the raw. The first of these colloquial terms dates from the late 1800s. In the buff, a seemingly modern locution dates from the 1600s, buff alluding to a soft, undyed leather, buffskin, that also gave its name to the color. The use of raw, presumably also alluding to raw (undressed) leather, dates from the early 1900s.

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Example Sentences

For the past three decades, the 54-year-old engineer from Zurich has been unabashedly hiking in the altogether, in all kinds of climatic conditions, with no incident.

From Time Magazine Archive

The place purported to be an hotel—a seedy, out-at-elbows, seemingly little-frequented hotel, rejoicing in the altogether inappropriate name of the Hôtel Paradis, or the Paradise Hotel.

From The Thin Red Line; and Blue Blood by Griffiths, Arthur

But the central deficiency of this confession lies in the altogether inadequate conception of Jesus Christ and His work which it embodies.

From Expositions of Holy Scripture St. John Chapters I to XIV by Maclaren, Alexander

English Law undoubtedly is housed with much greater modesty, though not without due magnificence, in the altogether humbler levels of the Strand.

From Beautiful Europe: Belgium by Morris, Joseph Ernest

Her better feelings rushed back, her old confidence and reverence; and, in the altogether nebulo-chaotic condition of her mind, she felt as if, in his turn, Godfrey had just appeared for her deliverance.

From Mary Marston by MacDonald, George

Related Words

• bare
• defenseless
• exposed
• helpless
• nude