The full Monty
"The whole thing; everything, with nothing left out."
A favourite of etymologists precisely because nobody can settle it. Leading candidates include: Montague Burton, the tailoring chain, where ordering "the full Monty" meant buying a complete three-piece suit rather than just a jacket; Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's reported insistence on a full English breakfast during WWII military campaigns; and an old card game called "Monte." The phrase only shows up clearly in print from the 1980s–90s, well after any of these possible sources, which makes tracing the true root very difficult.
Myth vs. FactThere is no confirmed link to Montague Burton or Field Marshal Montgomery, however often those stories are repeated as settled fact. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the origin as unknown.
Sources: Oxford English Dictionary, entry for 'monty, n.', origin listed as uncertain.
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