slang - "Definite ninety-nine" - UK English meaning


I've been browsing through older lyrics of Judas Priest songs, namely Rocka Rolla, which has the following lines in a verse:



Barroom fighter
Ten pint a nighter
Definite ninety-nine
Diamond cluster
Knuckle duster
Feline on the borderline



Context: the song is basically about a woman with "tough" image, i.e. frequently abusing alcohol and drugs, breaking the law, which probably would be a good pair for some kind of same thug-like "tough" guy.


Timeline and origin: this song was written and published around 1974 in UK.


I understand almost everything in this verse, except for "definite ninety-nine". I've done some homework, crawling around for the ideas, but being no native UK English speaker, I'm kind of at loss for what's the original meaning of this phrase. My guesses:



  • "99" being "99 miles per hour", i.e. "going very fast"

  • "99er" as in "a person who exhausted all of their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits", but this is most likely incorrect, as this is US term and was introduced relatively recently, i.e. it didn't exist in 1974

  • "99" in some sexual context?

  • "99" as in slang for cocaine

  • "99" as in hot body temperature in Fahrenheit, i.e. meaning just "hot"




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