Nine continues to be part of our investigations today. We know that 'dressed to the nines' means to be dressed flamboyantly. What is the origin of this phrase. From phrases.org.uk comes this most interesting explanation
"Nine is the most troublesome number in etymology. There are several phrases of uncertain parentage that include the word. Examples are, cloud nine, nine days' wonder and the infamous whole nine yards. We can add 'dressed to the nines' to that list."
There is no proof of the origins however frequent the repetition of the derivation of the phrase: "One theory has it that tailors used nine yards of material to make a suit (or, according to some authors, a shirt). The more material you had the more kudos you accrued, although nine yards seems generous even for a fop."
So the conclusion: "It seems clear that 'the Nine' that Rawlett was referring to were the Nine Muses. It is just as clear that 'dressed to the nines' is merely an extension of 'to the nine/s' and that we could equally well 'dance to the nines' or 'etymologise to the nines'. The search for the link between 'nines' and dress sense has unearthed no convincing candidates. Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence, but I'll stick my neck out here and say, with this phrase and with the other 'nines' phrases, 'nine' doesn't refer to anything specific - it just means 'a lot'."
Our pictures today bring together the Florida composites with reflections of the Toronto skyline buildings in a curved metal fountain at Victoria Street and Adelaide. I've admired the sculptures in this area for many years. As I was walking by on Wednesday, there were wonderful warped geometric abstracts. The first picture is a black and white version of one of the reflections. This picture has been combined with the Florida composites from January.
A group or set of nine is an ennead - in ancient Egypt there was the group of 9 Egyptian deities known as the Ennead.
There are a number of cultures where nine is a significant number:
In Indian culture, nine appears in Indian astrology where there are nine universal substances or elements in the Hindu philosophy: earth, water, air, fire, ether, time, space, soul, and mind. According to yoga, the human body has nine doors - two eyes, two ears, the mouth, two nostrils, and the openings for defecation and procreation.
In Chinese culture, nine is considered a good number, as it sounds like the word "long-lasting". Nine is strongly associated with the Chinese dragon, a symbol of magic and power. There are nine forms of the dragon, and it is described in terms of nine attributes, has nine children, etc - all characteristics are multiples of 9.
In Greek mythology there were the nine Muses, and the Romans had nine gods.
9 gods aliens is a tag for the notion that ancient astronauts have visited earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. One claim is that deities from most, if not all, religions are extraterrestrial in origin. The Erich Von Danker book Chariots of the Gods? was a best-seller on this topic. This idea is not taken seriously by academics.
How important is the number 9? The mystical numbers site had many references - some quirky and others intriguing. There's a moment of humour on the website with a quote from Ronald Reagan: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "Im from the government and I'm here to help."
The site also describes an interesting mathematical attribute: when multiplied 9 always reproduces itself 9x2 =18 1+8 = 9 9x3 = 27 2+7 = 9 9x4 = 36 3+6 = 9 9x5 = 45 4 + 5 = 9
