dressed to kill

Idioms

Also, dressed to the nines. Elaborately attired, as in For the opening of the restaurant she was dressed to kill, or At the opera everyone was dressed to the nines. The first of these hyperbolic expressions dates from the early 1800s and uses kill in the sense of “to a great or impressive degree.” The phrase to the nines in the sense of “superlative” dates from the late 1700s and its original meaning has been lost, but the most likely theory is that it alludes to the fact that nine, the highest single-digit numeral, stands for “best.” Also see gussied up.

Example Sentences

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dressed to kill

On one rainy Friday night in the Chapinero neighborhood, in northeast Bogotá, a swarm of young Colombians, with gelled hair and dressed to kill, gathered to relax at a craft brewery.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2023

Even though Moira lost her fortune and lives in a roadside motel in a town called Schitt’s Creek, the former soap opera star is always dressed to kill, complete with a different wig every day.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 6, 2020

It’s hard not to look with envy at the party photographs of this great Malian photographer, where the dancing goes on until dawn and everyone is dressed to kill.

From New York Times ● Dec. 14, 2017

I showed up, dressed to kill, and ready to wow the director and the camera crew.

From Forbes ● May 28, 2015

Brother Rabbit has just gone along by the gate dressed to kill.’

From Little Mr. Thimblefinger and His Queer Country by Oliver Herford

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

dressed to kill

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