The Dark Visitor

Things that freakin’ haunt you.  Once when I was in Beijing, a teacher asked me about the meaning of the phrase, “dressed to the nines.”  She was using the Madonna soundtrack, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” to help her class learn English:

Me: Oh, it means to be well dressed.

Her: (Horror!!!) What is the origin of this phrase?

Me: Well…it came from.. history…about…stuff.

Her: If you don’t know answer, that is okay.  I’ll ask someone else.

Me: No, I’m sure that is the meaning…really!

Okay now I know.  Still, a horrible feeling.

I often have this fear of not being able to answer simple questions about things I should know.

So, in the interest of useless knowledge, the origins of the word Baidu.