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Differences : get dressed/ dress up/ be dressed/ get dressed up to the nines?

English Language & Usage Asked by Akira Etou on December 23, 2020

Which one is correct?

(1) It’s a formal occasion so we’ll have to get dressed to the nines – no jeans and pullovers this time.

(2) It’s a formal occasion so we’ll have to dress up to the nines – no jeans and pullovers this time.

(3) It’s a formal occasion so we’ll have to get dressed up to the nines – no jeans and pullovers this time.

CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY –
dressed (up) to the nines (informal)
=to be wearing fashionable or formal clothes for a special occasion

I wonder whether the phrase ” get dressed up” actually exists or not because I can’t find any native material including it except some examples written by my country-non-native English speaking country.

One Answer

All three are acceptable.

I prefer "up to the nines" but simply "to the nines" is attested in Lexico.

Since the up can be part of the phrase "up to the nines" the question of whether "get dressed up" exists or not could be ignored, as the up is not related to the dressing directly in that interpretation.

However, since that can be ambiguous*, I searched Google books for "get dressed up" and found thousands of hits from native speakers. A small selection:

*It could be "get dressed up to the nines" or "get dressed up to the nines"

Answered by Matt E. Эллен on December 23, 2020

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