Meanings
- informaluncountableentertainmentBasic facial greasepaint makeup.
[…] before many years had passed I would be plastered in the greasy 'five and nine' cosmetics beloved of the theatrical profession.
2014, Evadne Hinge, The Naked Doctor, page 692 more examples
Not much "beautiful dignity" about her now! she thought, looking at her smudged eyes and the tracks her tears had made in carefully applied five and nine. Her black tin box of makeup — her most treasured possession — sat before her, […]
1995, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Marking Time, page 263The sticks of Leichner were notoriously hard and difficult to spread. […] In theatre dressing rooms the hot bulbs surrounding the actors' mirrors were often streaked with five and nine, which helped to soften the stuff.
2016, James Hayes, Shouting in the Evenings, page 80
Origin
From the product numbering used by the Leichner cosmetics company.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
five and nine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/five%20and%20nine
“five and nine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/five%20and%20nine. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “five and nine,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/five%20and%20nine.
Source: five and nine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.