Why do we say "The full Monty"?

Background:

The “full Monty” refers to the whole thing – the complete package, nothing lacking.

When they hear the term, “the full Monty,” many Westerners immediate think of the 1997 Oscar-winning movie by the same name, starring British actors Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, and Mark Addy. In it, six unemployed steel workers form a strip-tease act to raise money, promising to go “the full Monty” – in other words, full nakedness. But where does the phrase come from, and who’s this “Monty” everyone mentions?

There are at least five theories as to the term’s origin, three of which are related to Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery (1887-1976). One of the most successful Allied commanders of WWII, Montgomery led campaigns in North Africa, Italy and Normandy. Many found him arrogant and unlikeable, but his troops were devoted to him, often referring to him as Monty. The Field Marshal was said to favor appearing in uniform, displaying his full set of medals, so “the full Monty” may have initially meant dressing in such a way as to show off, the way Monty did. Another possibility is that it was a reference to the man’s penchant for delivering long-winded speeches to his men. They’d be treated to the full Monty, i.e., stuck listening to one of Montgomery’s tedious lectures. Finally, it’s said he preferred large breakfasts, and “the full Monty” became associated with a big complete breakfast (bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, etc.).

It’s also possible the phrase originated with a 19th-century Spanish card game sometimes called “Monte.” A deck of 40 cards (8s, 9s and 10s removed) are placed in a pile on the table – the “monte” (“mountain” in Spanish) - and players bet on cards as they’re removed from the stack.

Most linguists, however, feel the term most likely came from the tailoring business of Sir Montague Burton (1885-1952). Born Meshe David Osinsky in Lithuania, Burton emigrated (alone) to England to escape Russian pogroms sometime around 1900. He had established himself as a gentleman’s outfitter by 1903, and by 1913 owned five shops. By 1929 he’d expanded to 400 stores and had a factory in Leeds that employed 10,500 people, making it the world’s largest manufacturing facility at the time. One of Burton’s most popular items was a complete three-piece suit, and customers developed a shorthand for it, asking for a “full Monty” – a jacket, slacks, and vest.

Regardless of how the phrase came to be, it didn't appear in print until the mid-1980s, and by that time had already acquired the meaning it has today. It’s more popular in the U.K., but is often used in the United States as well.

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