word of the day: in full fig
Ah, the happy ending! And what is a more classic happy ending than a wedding? Miss Bianca and Bernard of the Mouse Prisoners’ Aid Society attend the event at the Embassy tucked into the pockets of the best suit of the Boy (never named!) who is Miss Bianca’s devoted attendant (too undignified to call her a pet). The Boy’s father and mother are dressed up, too, of course.
The Ambassadress … wore peach-color silk and a hat with a peach-colored ostrich feather. The Ambassador, who gave [the bride] away, to do her honor got into full Diplomatic fig. So they all looked their best.
definition (Online Etymology Dictionary): "dress, equipment," 1823, in phrase in full fig; hence "condition, state of preparedness" (1883). Said to be an abbreviation of figure (n.), perhaps from the abbreviation of that word in plate illustrations in books, etc. According to others, from the fig leaves of Adam and Eve.
source:
Miss Bianca and the Bridesmaid
by Margery Sharp
illustrated by Erik Blegveld
1972. Little, Brown & Co., Boston MA
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