Jun 15, 2006 where does the saying whole nine yards come from. I have used the phase for years and was questioned about it when i used it in a creative writing assignment in college. It also suggests that the number isnt important and doesnt refer to anything in particular. To single out the last but one stage of either is rather like attributing the source of the whole nine yards to american football, where it is ten yards rather than nine that is a significant measure. The first new break on the whole nine yards came in 2007, when sam clements, a coin dealer and avid word sleuth from akron, ohio, discovered it in a 1964 article in the tucson daily citizen. Oddly, and even though it was well enough known in indiana in 1907 to have appeared several times in newspapers without the authors feeling the need to explain it. During the second world war, gunners were armed with an ammunition belt which was 27 feet long. And author of the yale book of quotations, found two from 1912, of which this is one.
The whole nine yards 2000 official trailer bruce willis, matthew perry movie hd nick is a struggling dentist in canada. What we have known for many years is that the phrase dates from after the second. Later, the words full or whole were attached to it, and even later it was quantified by the numbers six and nine, with the whole nine yards eventually winning out and becoming the canonical form. The expression the whole nine yards can be dated back to ancient greece. One of the most popular tales is that 9 yards was the length of machine gun magazines during world war ii, and soldiers were encouraged to use the whole nine yards against enemy soldiers. Search, discover and share your favorite the whole nine yards gifs. Where does the expression the whole nine yards come from. What are the origins of the saying the whole nine yards. Despite a charming cast, the whole nine yards cant tickle funny bones consistently enough to distract from its sitcomlike story. Now theyve discovered an even earlier version of the phrase, the whole six yards, which was used in the rural south as early as 1912.
When the sandstorm subsided, i met the crew at wham bam to clean out the dust and debris. Also, the fact that nine is far from the only number that has been linked with clouds, argues against those origins. Jan 02, 20 no one explained how any of these theories jibed with the recent discovery of a whole six yards variant in a kentucky newspaper in the 1910s some four decades before the appearance of the whole nine yards, or why, for example, an expression that derived from saris or kilts would be totally unknown in british and indian sources. When people talk about the whole nine yards, just what are they talking about. I presumed this meant at the end of the whole nine yards. I wonder what the origin of the phrase the whole magilla might be.
Grade 7 up according to storm, the narrator, the whole nine yards represents some kind of maximum or ultimate effort or experience. Third, the phrase all nine yards would be more likely in this context than the whole nine yards. To use the whole belt on the enemy was to go the whole nine yards. Origin of the phrase the whole nine yards explained youtube. Squareriggers usually have three masts, each with three sails, which are held up by wooden poles called yards. Whole nine yards, the definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. When all all of the ships sails were set, it was called the whole nine yards. The whole nine yards idioms by the free dictionary. In the past few years, however, some significant progress has been made to unearth early examples of the idiom, which may eventually help to smoke out where those nine yards originally came from. At least one caliber was issued in 27 foot lengths. The whole nine yards, ive read, refers to world war one. To use the whole belt on the enemy was to go the whole nine. Taking to the air, another theory has it that fighter planes in world war two carried nine yards of ammunition belts in their machine guns, and thus a flier who had seen heavy action on a mission was said to have used the whole nine yards.
Its used in the same sense as the whole nine yards. It is a sequel to the 2000 film the whole nine yards. Dec 05, 20 the whole nine yards refers to chains of ammo you see that are held together and fed into the weapon. The whole nine yards crops up in many contexts, which isnt surprising as there are many things that can be measured in linear, square or cubic yards and there are also yardarms, steelyards etc. Bob dole unplugged, nine yards, paddy wagon, the skinny. No one explained how any of these theories jibed with the recent discovery of a whole six yards variant in a kentucky newspaper in the 1910s some four decades before the appearance of the whole nine yards, or why, for example, an expression that derived from saris or kilts would be totally unknown in british and indian sources. There are dozens of theories, but none has been proven. Does the phrase derive from the length of ammunition belts in world. I belived it was the distance between the crease in cricket but a friend says it was the length of. Other debunked theories claim it originated with cement mixers, nuns habits, scottish kilts, ships sails, shrouds, garbage trucks, a maharajas sash, a hangmans noose, and so on. Where does the phrase the whole nine yards come from.
Mar 22, 2020 later, the words full or whole were attached to it, and even later it was quantified by the numbers six and nine, with the whole nine yards eventually winning out and becoming the canonical form. The next known example also comes from late 1962, found a couple of years ago by. Jul 19, 2006 the saying the whole nine yards came from world war ii. In a short story published in 1962, the phrase is attributed to a brush salesman. Popular folk etymologies have argued that whole nine yards is a reference to football or the ammunition clips used in submachine guns, but these etymo. I like the story that the expression the whole ball of wax is a humorous modification of the whole bailiwick, with bail having a mental association with ball and wick with a.
Where did the saying im on cloud nine come from and. That fact serves to dismiss one of three most popular theories of its origin. Further, we can safely discount such often put forth conjectures that the expression dressed to the nines came from tailors using nine yards of material to make a finely crafted suit of clothing which is also often put forth as the origin of the whole nine yards, which we cover the origin of in full here. The most plausible origin of the whole nine yards is the rigging on early sailing ships.
Feb 11, 2012 in which nelson god hes amazing explains the origin of the popular phrase the whole nine yards ask me questions about me in the doobly doo if you want to know more about me and ill make a. In which nelson god hes amazing explains the origin of the popular phrase the whole nine yards ask me questions about me in the doobly doo if. Mar 25, 2009 in the past few years, however, some significant progress has been made to unearth early examples of the idiom, which may eventually help to smoke out where those nine yards originally came from. Discover whats missing in your discography and shop for whole nine yards releases. While many different phrases did come out of war, we couldnt find any war literature that mentions this phrase nor could other reputable linguists, and the earliest mention comes over a decade after wwiis end. It was based on characters created by mitchell kapner, who was the writer of the first film.
Dec 27, 2012 the first new break on the whole nine yards came in 2007, when sam clements, a coin dealer and avid word sleuth from akron, ohio, discovered it in a 1964 article in the tucson daily citizen. The saying the whole nine yards came from world war ii. In 1982, william safire called that one of the great etymological mysteries of our skip to main content. The origin of the phrase the whole nine yards today i found out.
The whole nine yards originated as a uniquely american turn of phrase while remaining relatively unknown in great britain. Use of the full phrase was for a long time restricted to the american midwest, in particular to the region around the kentuckyindiana border, before. The whole nine yards the meaning and origin of this phrase. The whole nine yards crops up in many contexts, which isnt surprising as there are many things that can be measured in linear. Aug, 2014 the whole nine yards 2000 official trailer bruce willis, matthew perry movie hd nick is a struggling dentist in canada. Give em the whole nine yards means an itembyitem report on any project. It comes from a medieval test that required a person to walk nine steps over hot coals to prove their innocence. The meaning of the whole nine yards in the above citations is clear, that is, as we use it now, the whole thingthe full story. The phrase the whole nine yards, used as synonym for everything possible or available, can be traced to the american south and midwest in the era from the mid19th century to the early 20th century. The p51 mustang, which was the allied fighter plane workhorse held belts of machine gun ammumition in its wings, and of course they could only hold so much ammunition, and as it turns out. The whole nine yards definition and meaning collins english. Went the whole nine yards idioms by the free dictionary. I belived it was the distance between the crease in cricket but a friend says it was the length of the ammunition strip in the spitfire during ww11.
The whole nine yards or the full nine yards is a colloquial american english phrase meaning everything, the whole lot or, when used as an adjective, all the. This suggests to me that whatever it was that needed some yardage didnt in fact need nine yards but somewhat less. Here are just a handful of the conjectures for the origin of the whole nine yards. I have come across the phrase the whole nine yards while reading michael kordas ike.
Where does the expression the whole nine yards come. The newspaper article on the space program, for instance, offers a glossary of the lingo of participants, including give em the whole nine yards means an itembyitem report on any project. The phrase the whole nine yards i always thought was derived from a time when a condemned prisoner was housed in confinement, just before execution, a distance of nine yards from the gallows or other implement of execution. Book of quotations, attributes the interest to william safire, who was a. The recent discovery of several instances of the whole six yards in newspapers from the 1910s four decades before the earliest known references to the whole nine yards opens a new window onto the most prominent etymological riddle of our time, said fred shapiro. We used brushes, brooms, dustpans, and any other cleaning equipment we could scrounge from the mess kitchen. A new neighbor moves in, and he discovers that it is jimmy the tulip. So the mystery of the whole nine yards remains unsolved, but as long as new clues keep popping up, the hunt is still afoot. Where did the phrase the whole nine yards come from. Trying to pinpoint the origin of the whole nine yards has puzzled etymology buffs for years. Coupled with the finding of the whole nine yards from the same state in 1956, this suggests a rural or backwoods origin for the expression, rather than the military ones that have been most strongly advocated. It is a nautical term which was derived from three horizontal poles that hold up the sails on a squarerigged sailing ship. Maybe it took nine yards of material to make a mop. Wordsleuths traced the modern use of the whole nine yards as far back as a 1956 article in a magazine called kentucky happy hunting ground.
The whole nine yards refers to chains of ammo you see that are held together and fed into the weapon. Definition of the whole nine yards in the idioms dictionary. For instance that their obsession with mayonnaise on hamburgers, which is integral to the plot, isnt based on any reality that i know of as i have yet to find a montreal restaurant that puts mayonnaise on burgers. Being a montrealer, i noticed a few things that most viewers might have missed. Where the expression dressed to the nines came from. Firstly, i think its significant that none of the quotes refers to nine yards but to the whole nine yards, or all nine yards, or even the whole damn nine yards. A letter published in an auto magazine later that year describes a certain new car as containing all nine yards of goodies. Whole nine yards, the definition of whole nine yards, the. The whole nine yards is a 2000 film about a struggling dentist in canada, who discovers that his new neighbor is hitman jimmy the tulip teduski. There are many theories about where the expression comes from among them squareriggers with three masts, the amount of cloth in the queens bridal train, the. Urban dictionary and our advertising partners set cookies on your computer to improve our site and the advertisements you see. The whole nine yards or the full nine yards is a colloquial american english phrase meaning everything, the whole lot or, when used as an adjective, all the way, as in, the army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use space systems. The whole nine yards is a whole lot older than world war ii, which clearly rules out that popular theory about the origin of the expression. The many and various explanations of the whole nine yards.
There are many theories about where the expression comes from among them squareriggers with three masts. Nine cubic yards, it is said, is roughly the capacity of a rotary cementmixing truck. While the meaning of the whole nine yards is relatively well understood, how the saying came into the english language remains a mystery. The p51 mustang, which was the allied fighter plane workhorse held belts of machine gun ammumition in its wings, and of course they could only hold so much ammunition, and as it turns out the belts of ammunition were 27 feet, or 9 yards, long. The whole nine yards 2000 official trailer youtube. Definition of went the whole nine yards in the idioms dictionary. Roger hudson, brampton, canada the bullets for the machine guns used in american combat planes of ww2 and since were in chains twenty. It is asserted that nine yards is a customary length of a burial shroud, and the whole nine yards would refer to death, and by extention any extreme, final limit. The characters in the novel never come to life, although they certainly have life thrown at them. In an attempt to get him killed, his wife convinces him to go to chicago and inform the mob boss who wants jimmy dead. The whole ten yards is a 2004 american crime comedy film directed by howard deutch and starring bruce willis, matthew perry, amanda peet, natasha henstridge, and kevin pollak. There are those who say the phrase the whole nine yards comes from a. The origins of the whole megillah are investigated. Thus the phrase give them the enemy the whole nine yards was born.
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