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From: gary@bocklin.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: The magic number nine.
Message-ID: <134@bocklin.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 21-Apr-85 14:58:29 EST
Article-I.D.: bocklin.134
Posted: Sun Apr 21 14:58:29 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Apr-85 06:55:54 EST
References: <388@ihu1m.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Dept of CS, U of Arizona, Tucson
Lines: 20

> "Nine" crops up a lot in English idiom.
> "Dressed to the nines."  Where did this come from?
> "Possession is nine points of the law."  I asked about this
> one (often misstated as "Possession is nine tenths of the law.")
> What are those nine, and what's so special about them?
> ken perlow

Courtesy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (a useful book
when reading net news)

Dressed to the nines -- possibly a corruption of ``to then eynes''
(to the eyes).

Possesion is nine points of the law -- It is every advantage a person
can have short of actual right.  The ``nine points'' have been given
as: (1) a good deal of money, (2) a good deal of patience, (3) a good
cause, (4) a good lawyer, (5) a good counsel, (6) good witnesses,
(7) a good jury, (8) a good judge, (9) good luck.
-- 
Gary Levin / Dept of CS / U of AZ / Tucson, AZ 85721 / (602) 621-4231