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“The full Monty” means “everything” in British slang, but Americans associate it with nudity due to a 1997 film. The origins are unclear, but it may come from a tailor named Sir Montague Burton or a corruption of “full amount” or a card game called Monte. Other explanations involve Field Marshal Montgomery, but they are apocryphal.
“The full Monty” is a British slang term meaning “everything”. Americans associate the term specifically with nudity, thanks to a 1997 British comedy film, The Full Monty, in which nudity is a major plot device. As with many colorful slang terms, the origins of “the complete Monty” are a bit difficult to pin down, and most slang dictionaries simply note “origins unknown,” because none of the explanations for the term can be verified.
Evidence suggests that Britons have used “the full Monty” since at least the 1950s, although the term didn’t appear in print until the 1980s. By the 1980s, the slang term was well known enough that when it appeared in print, writers assumed readers knew what it meant. Americans weren’t familiar with the term until 1997, after which it entered the American lexicon to describe a state of nudity.
One of the most likely explanations for the origins of this term lies with a tailor named Sir Montague Burton, who opened his business in 1904. “Monty”, as he was known, prided himself on offering tailored suits, and it is conceivable that customers referred to such suits as “the Monty suit” and that the term was slowly spreading throughout the rest of society. Sir Burton was certainly a well known and respected tailor, which made this explanation plausible, if impossible to prove.
It has also been suggested that “the whole Monty” may be a corruption of the “full amount” or a reference to pool betting in a card game called Monte. Since Monte has historically been played primarily in Spain, hopping to the British Isles is left to the imagination. Another gambling-related explanation suggests that the term is a reference to the famous Monte Carlo casino.
Other explanations focus on another famous Monty from British history, Field Marshal Montgomery. Supposedly, the field marshal liked to wear all of his medals at all times, sporting a full set that might have been known in military parlance as “the Monty suit.” Field Marshal Montgomery is also supposed to have been a strong proponent of the full British breakfast, even in tense times, so it is conceivable that the soldiers under his command would have become accustomed to seeing the Full Monty on the breakfast table. Alas, as fascinating as these explanations are, both are apocryphal, although Field Marshal Montgomery certainly had the nickname “Monty.”
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