nine, a. and n.
(naɪn)
Forms: α. 1 niᵹon, -an, -en, (pl. -one, -ona, nyᵹene), 2–3 niȝon, 2–4 niȝen, (Orm. niȝhenn), 4 neghen, neyen, neien. β. 3 niȝe, 4 nyȝe, ne(y)ghe; 3 nie, 4 nye. γ. 1, 3 nione, 3–4 niene, nyen, 4 nien. δ. 4 neyne, neine, 4–5 nene, (4 nen), 5 (9 dial.) neen. ε. 4 nin, 4–7 nyne, 6–7 nyn, 4– nine.
[OE. niᵹon, etc. = OFris. nigun, niugun, -en, -in, niogen, OS. nigun, -on, -en, MDu. and MLG. negen, neghen:—*niᵹun, a variant of the OTeut. *niwun which is represented by OHG. niun (niwan, MHG. niun, neun, also niwen, newen, G. neun), Goth. niun, ON. n{iacu}u (Sw. nio, Da. ni). The Indo-Eur. stem *newn is represented in all the cognate languages, as Skr. náva(n), Gr. ἐννέα, L. novem, OIr. nói(n), OPruss. newin-, Lith. devynì, OSl. devętĭ, etc.]
The cardinal number next after eight, represented by the symbols 9 or ix.
A. adj.
1. a. In concord with n. expressed. (Also coupled with a higher cardinal numeral, as nine and twenty, etc.)
| α c 840 Charter 48 in O.E. Texts 454 [Ic]..sile Forðrede minum ðeᵹne niᵹen hiᵹida lond in Wudotune. c 900 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 898 Niᵹon nihtum ær middum sumere. 971 Blickl. Hom. 9 He þa æfter niᵹan monða fæce forðeode. c 1055 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 300 Ᵹif se monð ne þearf habban buton niᵹon & twentiᵹ nihta. c 1200 Ormin 1051 All enngleþeod todæledd iss O niȝhenn kinne þeode. c 1205 Lay. 5149 Mid nihen hundred scipene heo commen in to hauene. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 364 Niȝen woukes and mare Þe mariners flet on flod. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 729 Neghen hundreth wynter man lyfed þan. c 1375 Cursor M. 9179 (Fairf.), Ezechias..regned xxx. ȝere and neyen. a 1400–50 Alexander 4810 Þus drafe þai furth..a neȝen daies euen. |
| β c 1205 Lay. 26603 To þan wuden þrungen niȝe þusende. a 1225 Ancr. R. 328 Þis beoð nu nie reisuns. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3862 Wiþinne a nye ȝer al þis was ydo. a 1400 Octouian 536 The wynd gan blowe swyde schylle Neyghe dayes. c 1400 Chron. R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5413 (MS. α), In þe ȝer of grace nyȝe hundred ȝer & on. |
| γ 13.. Cursor M. 1237 (Gött.), Adam had passid nien hundred ȝer. c 1400 Ibid. 28892 (Cott. Galba), Er þare nyen pointes to se. |
| δ a 1300 Cursor M. 23265 And qui þar es þaa paines nene, here nu þe skil. 13.. Ibid. 18632 (Gött.), His lijf was in þis werld here Neine hundreth and thritti ȝere. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2638 My fader was..of fele yeres,—To the nowmber of nene skowre. 1483 Cath. Angl. 251/2 Neen tymes; novies. |
| ε a 1300 Cursor M. 1455 Nine hundret yeir and seuen. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1377 Nyne syþe he ȝede aboute, & kiste þe auter. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 58 Feith..nolde nouȝt neighen hym ny nyne londes lengthe. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 357/1 Nyne Hundryd, nonaginti. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 961 Sic tythingis come to the King within thay nyne nicht. 1535 Coverdale Deut. iii. 11 His yron bed is here.., nyne cubites longe. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, i. i. 112 When I was crown'd, I was but nine moneths old. 1606 G. W[oodcocke] Hist. Ivstine xi. 46 Of Alexanders host, were slaine nine footemen. 1667 Duchess of Newcastle Life Dk. of N. (1886) II. 86 He was now able..to buy a coach and nine horses. 1727–28 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Ombre, In ombre by three, nine cards are dealt to each party. Ibid., If the ombre win all the nine tricks. 1819 Shelley Peter Bell 3rd vi. xv, I looked on them nine several days, And then I saw that they were bad. 1885 New Bk. Sports 106 In the skittles of our fathers, nine pins were used, but of different value. |
† b. Forming a compound ordinal number.
Obs.| c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. D.) an. 1052 Þæt wæs on þam niᵹon & brittiᵹæðan ᵹeare. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 160 Þe neyne & twentiþe [default]. c 1380 ― Last Age Ch. (1840) 24 Þe seuynty and nyne chapitre. 1579 Fulke Heskins's Parl. 491 The nine and fourtieth Chapter continueth the same exposition. |
2. a. With ellipse of
n., which may usually be supplied from the context.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xvii. 17 Ahne teno ᵹeclænsad woeron & ða niᵹona [Rushw. nione] huer sint. c 1205 Lay. 26502 Sone heom after wenden iwepnede kempen, Þer sixe þer seouene, þer æhte þer niȝene. 13.. K. Alis 2422 So Alisaundre among heore men Sleth doun ryght by nyne and ten. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 34 Where ben oþer nyne? c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 4500 Thei turned aȝeyn on ther fomen And sclow hem doun by nyne and ten. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 227 Of the nobillest be-name, noumerit of nyne. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 146 b, All the counseyles of our lorde Jesu Chryst may be reduced to these nyne. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. Introd. ii, Helpe then, O holy virgin! chiete of nyne. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iii. ii. 183 Fancies too weake for Boyes, too greene and idle For Girles of Nine. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. viii, I..fastened them..to nine of the Vessels which attended me. 1790 Mrs. Wheeler Westmld. Dial (1821) 65 Thear wor neen on us set off frae this side. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxxiv, Thus Eachin stood in the centre of nine of the strongest men of his band. 1868 Chambers's Encycl. X. 172/1 The same [holds] at long whist with players who are at nine. |
b. esp. of the hour of the day, as
nine o'clock, etc. Also used with ref. to the horizontal position of the hour-hand of a clock at that time.
attrib. nine o'clock news: see
news n. (
pl.) 5 c; also
ellipt.| 1548 Elyot, Nonariæ meretrices, commune harlottes, whyche vsed at ix. [Cooper nyne] of the clocke..to open theyr houses. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. i. 167 But new strooke nine. 1598 ― Merry W. iii. v. 47 Come to her betweene eight and nine. 1693 Phil. Trans. XVII. 673 Sometimes the Courses, Seams or Rakes..lie at Nine a Clock, and sometimes are perpendicular, which they call..Twelve a Clock. 1765 Ann. Reg. i. 135 About nine at night an extraordinary phænomenon was seen. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain vii, I started at nine next morning. 1861 Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 47 The gates were closed at nine o'clock. 1942 T. Rattigan Flare Path ii. i. 117 Anyone hear the nine o'clock? I clean forgot the time. 1952 M. Laski Village i. 11 Since the King had spoken on the nine o'clock. |
| attrib. 1894 Times 17 July 8/1 To use a rifleman's expression, it was a ‘9 o'clock’ wind... It blew from the left side of the rifleman. |
c. the Nine. (
i) The nine Muses.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xxxviii, Be thou the tenth Muse, ten times more in worth Than those old nine which rhymers invocate. 1635 F. Quarles Emblemes v. iii. 254 'Tis not the sacred wealth of all the Nine Can buy my heart from Him. 1638 Lisle ælfric on O. & N. Test. (ed. 2) To Prince, Yee Nine that leaue twi-pointed Pernas hill..Into my soule your honie-dew distill. 1693 Dryden Persius (1697) 401, I..claim no part in all the Mighty Nine. 1708 Pope Ode St. Cecilia 1 Descend, ye Nine! descend and sing. 1757 J. Dyer Fleece iv. 145 My Muse..Be thou the first of the harmonious Nine From high Parnassus. 1781 Cowper Table-T. 184 Nor would the Nine consent the sacred tide Should purl amidst the traffic of Cheapside. 1803 [see muse n.1 1]. 1852 M. Arnold Empedocles on Etna 69 'Tis Apollo comes leading His choir, The Nine. 1887 Bowen Virgil Ecl. ix. 32 For I, through grace of the Nine, Poet am also. 1933 Kipling in Times 23 Feb. 16/1 He called the obedient Nine to aid The varied chase. And Clio kissed. |
(
ii) The group of countries forming the enlarged European Economic Community between 1973 and 1981.
In 1973, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland were admitted to join the
six a. 2 j.
Cf. also
the Ten (c)
s.v. ten a. 2 c.
| 1972 Guardian 18 Oct. 15/3 It will be necessary for the governments of the Nine to decide what kind of Europe they want to be. 1975 Times 18 Apr. 6/7 Nine safeguard New Zealand dairy products... The European Commission promises a new price review for New Zealand butter and cheese. 1979 Dædalus Winter 83 The nations of the Nine naturally partake of the problems..of the whole Western developed world. |
d. nine-to-five,
nine-till-five, used
attrib. (
a) of a person working between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; so
nine-to-fiver,
nine-till-fiver; (
b) of an occupation pursued between these hours, or of the mentality concerned with such an occupation, or with work only between such hours. So
nine-to-five (it) v., to work between such hours.
| 1959 Manch. Guardian 16 June 5/1 These people are just workers like everybody else..they're all nine-to-fivers. 1960 News Chron. 13 Sept. 4/5 An electronic computer, working the nine-to-five shift. 1960 F. Raphael Limits of Love i. vi. 80 What do you want him to be? A nine till fiver? 1961 Oxf. Mag. 4 May 318/2 The so called ‘9 to 5’ atmosphere and routine. 1962 R. Cook Crust on its Uppers i. 25 The game we play, it's got its risks, but it's..better than nine-to-fiving it. 1965 Listener 10 June 856/2 Some 60 per cent. of the students are home-based—a statistic to which the president of the students' union attributes nine-till-five attitudes. 1966 O. Norton School of Liars i. 19 ‘I hate having my corn measured by someone else's bushel. Especially when it's a tinpot suburban bushel. The nine-to-five world.’ That amused him. ‘But you're a nine-to-fiver's wife.’ 1969 Times 13 Mar. 20/3 (Advt.), 9 to 5 men come cheaper by the dozen. 1972 Nature 25 Feb. 412/3 The contract people tend to be exclusively ‘9 to 5’ scientists whereas the scientists on grants have the traditional university attitude of ignoring the clock. 1972 F. Warner Lying Figures ii. 9, I couldn't stand a nine-to-fiver. 1975 P. G. Winslow Death of Angel i. 41 Wants a nine to five... That's her type, not a policeman coming in at all hours. |
3. In special applications.
See also
cat n.1 13 b,
order n. 5,
worthy n., etc.
a. In references to the time (
nine days or
nine nights) during which a novelty is proverbially said to attract attention. (
Cf. 4 b.)
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 588 Ek wonder last but nine nyght nevere in towne. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 90 This wonder lasted nine daies. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 205 The greatest wonder lasteth but nine daies. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 180, I was seuen of the nine daies out of the wonder, before you came. 1606 Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows iii. §18. 41 So those things..shall be wonders to me; and that not for nine dayes, but for euer. |
† b. nine ways (at thrice), asquint, askew.
| 1542 Udall tr. Erasm. Apoph. (1877) 203 Squyntyied he was, and looked nyne wayes. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Rich. II, 326 Passion flyes Squinting, and, as wee say, Nine wayes at Thrice. |
c. nine times (etc.) out of ten, in the great majority of cases, as a rule.
| 1809 Malkin Gil Blas i. v. ¶7 They..nine times out of ten flogged me for nothing. a 1845 Hood The Run-over, It would have been a quietus for nine men out of ten. 1879 Mrs. A. G. F. E. James Ind. Househ. Managem. 43 In nine cases out of ten you will not find your confidence misplaced. |
d. nine points: (see
possession).
| 1880 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Rebel of Family ix, ‘You have it in your possession still’. ‘My nine points? Rather shaky ones, I fear.’ |
4. a. Combined with
ns., forming attributive compounds, as
nine-feet,
nine-foot,
nine-hole,
nine-hour,
nine-inch,
nine-knot,
nine-mile,
nine-pound,
nine-share,
nine-shillings; also
nine-year-old n. and
adj.| 1828 P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 299 A *nine-feet promenade is amply sufficient. |
| 1897 P. Warung Tales Old Regime 81 The *nine-foot chain before mentioned. |
| 1894 Westm. Gaz. 17 Nov. 7/1 A *nine-hole course has been laid out at Gavarnie. |
| 1897 Daily News 13 July 8/5 A *nine-hour day is not so long as to be exhausting to a man. |
| 1765 Ann. Reg. i. 103 All narrow wheels are to pay one-half toll more than the *nine-inch wheels. 1819 Shelley Peter Bell 3rd vi. xx, High trotting over nine-inch bridges. |
| 1853 R. S. Hawker Wks. (1893) 28 There's a *nine-knot breeze above. |
| 1780 New Newgate Cal. V. 139 Near the *nine-mile stone on the Hounslow-road. 1822–53 De Quincey Confess. Wks. 1853 I. 131 An easy nine-mile walk. |
| 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4906/2, I had two *Nine pound Shots through my Fore⁓mast. 1893 J. Watson Conf. Poacher 63 She failed to jump a stone fence, with a nine-pound hare in her mouth. |
| 1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 96/1 The *nine-share plough, or scarifier, has been found very useful in the light soils. |
| 1683 Tryon Way to Health 340 Let your Drink at Meals be no stronger than *nine shillings Beer. |
| 1828 Moir Mansie Wauch xi. 98 We..read away like *nine-year-aulds. 1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe xxxix, A long, thin, nine-year old child. |
b. nine days' wonder, etc., applied to an event or thing of temporary interest. (
Cf. 3 a.)
| 1594 Spanish Trag. iv. in Hazl. Dodsley V. 97 Which as a nine-days' wonder, being o'erblown. 1602 How a Man, etc. iv. ii. in Old Eng. Dram. (1824) 75 Her timeless death Is but a nine days' talk. 1625 Massinger New Way iv. ii, That were but nine days' wonder. 1764 Churchill Ghost iii. 547 He would be found..A nine days' wonder at the most. 1818 Byron Juan i. clxxxviii, The nine days' wonder which was brought to light. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xlii, His escape on the night of the riot had been a nine-days' wonder. |
c. nine-hours' day: a working day of nine hours. So
nine-hours' movement.
Cf. nine-hour, sense 4 a.
| 1859 Times 5 Aug. 3/3 It appears that the ‘Conference of the United Building Trades’..is established for the special purpose of carrying the nine hours' movement. 1862 Leisure Hour 28 June 413/2 They agreed upon an effort to shorten working time, and fixed upon a nine-hours' day. The phrase includes nine hours' actual work. |
5. a. In parasynthetic
adjs., as
nine-banded,
nine-circled,
nine-cornered,
nine-jointed,
nine-lived,
nine-spotted,
nine-stringed,
nine-tailed,
nine-voiced.
| 1909 Biol. Bull. XVII. 181 (title) A case of normal identical quadruplets in the *nine-banded armadillo [sc. Dasypus novemcinctus]. 1964 G. Durrell Menagerie Manor i. 34 The nine-banded armadillo..trots about his cage. |
| 1851 C. L. Smith tr. Tasso xviii. xlviii, Its grand *nine-circled stream opaque. |
| 1809 W. Irving Knickerb. iv. iii, Some dozen huge, misshapen, *nine-cornered Dutch oaths. |
| 1839 Penny Cycl. XV. 84/2 The antennæ..are *nine-jointed. |
| 1600 S. Nicolson Acolastus (1876) 46 Loue is *nine-liu'd; kill him ne'er so much, The Wanton Boy reuiueth with a tutch. |
| 1861 Trans. Illinois Agric. Soc. IV. 347, I found numerous specimens of a *nine-spotted lady-bird (Coccinella novemnotata, Herbst,) under dry cow-dung. 1972 Swan & Papp Common Insects N. Amer. xx. 410 Nine-spotted lady beetle... In California..they are heavy feeders on aphids in alfalfa. |
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 2/2 By the soft Touches of the *Nine-string'd Heaven. |
| 1786 Burns Ordination xi, Hark, how the *nine-tail'd cat she plays! |
| 1585 Jas. I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 25 Her *nynevoced mouth resembled into sound The daunce harmonious making heauen resound. |
b. In parasynthetic
ns., as
nine-pounder.
| 1747 B. Robins Prop. incr. Strength Navy 8 Very lately the Six Pounders in some of the smaller Ships have been changed for Nine Pounders. 1834–47 J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. (1851) 18 Supposing them to be armed with nine-pounders. 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. VI. xli. 242 Jones could only use three nine-pounders. |
6. In special combs. (
attrib. or absolute), as
nine-bark (spice or syringa), an American shrub,
Spiræa opulifolia, having many layers of loose bark;
nine-days disease (see
quot.);
† nine-double, ninefold;
nine-men's morris: see
morris;
nine-pegs,
ninepins;
nine-point(s) circle (see
quot. 1865);
† nine-worthiness, valour like that of the nine worthies.
| 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 576 Plum trees, *nine bark spice, and leather wood bushes. 1847 Darlington Amer. Weeds (1860) 120 A very showy ornamental species... Sometimes called ‘Nine-Bark Syringa’. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), Nine-bark, a low shrub found in Maine, Canada [etc.]. Its old bark is loose, and separates in thin layers. |
| 1799 Underwood Diseases Children (ed. 4) I. 159 A disorder, whose attack being within the first nine days after birth, has been denominated the *nine-days disease. |
| 1598 Florio, Nonoplo, nine-fold, *nine double. |
| 1675 Cotton Burlesque upon B. 56 Playing at *Nine peggs with such heat That mighty Jupiter did sweat. |
| 1883 Nature XXVII. 607 In place of the well known ‘*nine-point’ circle..would not ‘mid-point’ circle be equally expressive? |
| 1865 Brande & Cox Dict. Sci., etc. I. 461 The circle which passes through the middle points of the sides of a triangle is referred to by Continental writers as ‘the *nine-points circle’. |
| 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 113 The Foe, for dread Of your *Nine-Worthiness, is fled. |
B. n. 1. The abstract number nine; the figure or symbol representing this.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxii. (1495) 922 One addyd or putte to eyghte makyth the nombre of nyne. a 1400 in Halliwell Rara Mathem. 31 The figure of nyne that hath this schape 9. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 488 Three times thrice is nine. 1611 Florio, Nonarie, of nine. 1798 Hutton Course Math. I. 10 Add the figures..and find how many nines are contained in their sum.—Reject those nines, and set down the remainder. 1870 Sonnenschein & Nesbitt Sci. & Art Arith. i. xi. 132 Any number is an exact number of nines + the sum of its digits. |
2. a. Cards. A card marked with nine pips.
nine of diamonds: see
curse n. 4 c.
| 1599 Minsheu Percival's Sp. Dict. s.v. Malilla, a carde picked out and agreed vpon,..that he that hath him may make him king, queene, knaue, ace, ten, nine. &c. 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) 77 Suppose you have in your hand a Nine and two Sixes. 1727–38 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Ombre, The whole ombre pack being only 40, by reason the eights, nines, and tens, are thrown aside. 1868 Chambers's Encycl. X. 173 Dropping the nine, and holding queen and knave. |
b. A set of nine persons, players, etc.
| a 1860 Alb. Smith Med. Stud. (1861) 69 A student..assures him that..the examiners never pluck two nines running. 1860 Campbell Tales W. Highlands (1892) III. 375 He could kill nine nines backwards with his sword. 1871 G. R. Cutting Stud. Life at Amherst 113 In 1866, the College Ball Club..played against the ‘Nine’ of Brown University. |
3. a. A shoe, or foot, of the ninth size.
| 1599 Minsheu Percival's Sp. Gram. 81 The..size of shooes, as nines, tens, &c. 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. v. i, Courtiers haue feete a' th' nines & tongues a' th' twellues. |
b. A thing or person marked or distinguished by the number nine.
| 1888 H. Morten Hospital Life 30 Voices repeat the fact..that ‘Nine’ is going to be sent away for a change. |
4. long nine:
a. A nine-pounder gun.
| 1799 Hull Advertiser 19 Oct. 2/4 Corvette..of thirty-two guns, twenty-four long nines. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xxxviii, A couple of long brass nines. 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. xvii, We had entirely forgotten the long nine. |
b. U.S. A kind of cigar. (See also
long nine.)
| 1837 Hawthorne Twice-told T. (1849) vi. 59 The pedler..having sold him many a bunch of long nines, and a great deal of pig-tail, lady's twist, and fig tobacco. 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. ii. (1895) 51 Stable-boys smoking long-nines. |
5. nine point two, a gun having a calibre of 9·2 inches.
| 1898 Kipling in Morning Post 10 Nov. 5/2 You'd need a nine point two to do that properly. |
6. † a. upon the nines, ? at once.
Obs. rare—1.
| c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iv. 92 The moir degest and grave, The grydiar to grip it; The nycest to ressave, Vpon the nynis will nip it. |
b. (up) to the nines (rarely nine), to perfection, to the highest degree or point.
| 1787 Burns Answ. to Verses v, 'Twad please me to the nine. a 1793 ― Past. Poetry vii, Thou paints auld Nature to the nines. 1821 Galt Ayrsh. Legatees xxv, He's such a funny man, and touches off the Londoners to the nines! 1836 Haliburton Clockm. (1862) 61 Praisin a man's farm to the nines. 1859 Hotten Dict. Slang 68 Nines, ‘dressed up to the nines’, in a showy or recherché manner. 1863 Reade Hard Cash I. 203 Being clad in snowy cotton and japanned to the nine. 1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta (1890) 3 When she's dressed up to the nines for some grand party. 1928 Galsworthy Swan Song i. viii. 63 Women then were defended up to the nines. 1963 N. C. E. Kenrick Story Wiltshire Regiment ix. 86 The 99th's sartorial perfection at this time [c 1850] is said to have given rise to the expression ‘Dressed up to the nines’ as the other Regiments in Aldershot were constantly trying to achieve the same standard. 1965 Listener 20 May 742/2 So there they are, whenever a concert is given by their own orchestra, dressed up to the nines and bursting with pride. |
c. nine-nine-nine, a telephone number dialled in an emergency in order to obtain a connection to the ambulance service, fire brigade, police, etc.; also written
999.
| 1937 Rep. Proc. 14th Conf. ASLIB 76 The first burglar caught by dialling 999—the new telephone alarm signal. 1939 G. Greene 19 Stories (1947) 159 He chose..a telephone box and dialled..999. 1954 I. Murdoch Under Net x. 136 ‘Better call the police if you ask me.’..‘You go and dial nine nine nine.’ 1954 M. Procter Hell is City i. i. 16, I stopped..and dialled nine-nine-nine. a 1956 W. de le Mare Compl. Poems (1969) 713 Dial 999, and gain at once, Safety from fire, police and ambulance. 1966 ‘W. Haggard’ Power House viii. 89 She staggered to the telephone..dialled Nine Nine Nine. 1966 ‘A. York’ Eliminator v. 85 Should something happen to him I don't see Lucinda dialling Nine-Nine-Nine. 1973 Express (Trinidad & Tobago) 17 Mar. 10/4 We have introduced the 999 system with four cars to cover Morvant, San Juan and Santa Cruz areas. 1974 ‘M. Innes’ Appleby's Other Story vii. 55 He put through a 999 call to the police. |
______________________________
▸
nine-ball n. orig. and chiefly
U.S. = pool n.3 2(d); (also) the black ball, numbered nine, in this variety of pool;
cf. eight ball n. a.
| 1915 Frederick (Maryland) Post 5 June 6/5 The *nine ball game is on the pocket billiard table, played by a number of cue artists, and the one who pockets the nine ball is the winner. 1976 Webster's Sports Dict. 282/2 The aim is to pocket the nine ball after pocketing the other balls in rotation or in combination shots. 1983 E. McClanahan Nat. Man (1984) vi. 63 They played nine-ball mostly. 2006 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 15 Jan. x. 2/1 A tall, balding neighbor who had something that was the envy of neighborhood kids—a pool table—and invited Don and his buddies to play nine-ball. |