where did this phrase come from?

Question

how did they come up with it suits you like a T.... i know what it means but like " what does it mean" im not sure exactly how to but it LOL i hope you get me!!

Answer 1

To a 'T' means exactly (fits to a T, done to a T, suits you to a T, etc). Brewer lists this expression in 1870, so it was well established by then. Apparently from two origins, which would have strengthened the establishment of the expression (Brewer only references the latter origin, which personally I think is the main one):

Firstly it's a shortening of the expression 'to a tittle' which is an old English word for tiny amount, like jot.

Secondly, it is a reference to something fitting as if measured with a T-square, the instrument used by carpenters, mechanics and draughtsmen to measure right-angles.

Answer 2

Actually it's suits you "to" a t. But I don't know the origin of that phrase.

Answer 3

From the Buddy Guy song She Suits Me to a Tee:

Original version:

I got a good leg woman, she's alright with me
I got a good leg woman yeah, she's alright with me
She's a hip shakin' mama and she suits me, suits me to a Tee now

I never wanted for nothing
She bought me everything I needed
The good thing about her
She treats me like I wanna be treated
She's got a hip shakin' mama and she suits me, suits me to a Tee now

My baby she's so fine
She makes a blind man see
She's mine o mine yeah
Belongs to no one but me
She's got a hip shakin' mama and she suits me, suits me to a Tee now

Wow, tellin' about my baby
Nobody but my baby
She belongs to no one but me
And she's mine o mine

And I'm talkin' about my good babe
I'm talkin' about my gorgeous little girl
And she's alright now
Come say it she's all..., she's alright now
And she's something
Oh, she's something else