The alt.usage.english FAQ   

• "full monty"

  (Phrase Origins)
  
  This British expression meaning "the whole thing" [1], or more specifically "16 megabytes of memory, when fitted to an IBM PC or compatible computer", is first attested in 1986. To Michael Quinion's comprehensive treatment at http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/monty.htm may be added a story reported by Simon Gray that the origin is "the full diamond mount", i.e., the whole diamond ring; and the Jargon File's statement: "This usage is possibly derived from a TV commercial for Del Monte fruit juice, in which one of the characters insisted on 'the full Del Monte'."
  
  [1] The current usage is very closely associated with nudity.
  
  Source: [Mark Israel, 'Phrase Origins: "full monty"', The alt.usage.english FAQ file,(line 4839), (29 Sept 1997)]
  
  
  
  

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