Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The full range of possibilities; everything. Used with the.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun UK (colloquial) All inclusive; everything; a whole package.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From British slang, perhaps after Sir Montague, Burton (1885–1952), British tailor whose customers purchasing a two-piece suit could add a waistcoat and an extra pair of trousers for a small charge, an option informally called the full Monty.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Unknown. First appeared in print in 1980s, but probably existed before that. The most common theory for its origin is that a purchase (especially that of a full three-piece suit) from Montague Maurice Burton (1885-1952), founder of Burton Menswear, was known as a "full Monty". According to the OED, this etymology is "perhaps the most plausible".

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Examples

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Comments

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  • The real thing, not reduced in any way. cf "the whole nine yards".

    June 19, 2008