in the altogether

Idioms and Phrases

Also, in or stripped to the buff ; in the raw . Naked, nude, as in The art class wanted a model to pose in the altogether , or She was stripped to the buff when the doorbell rang , or He always sleeps in the raw . The first of these colloquial terms dates from the late 1800s. In the buff , a seemingly modern locution dates from the 1600s, buff alluding to a soft, undyed leather, buffskin , that also gave its name to the color. The use of raw , presumably also alluding to raw (undressed) leather, dates from the early 1900s.

Related Words

• bare
• defenseless
• exposed
• helpless
• nude