Search results
The whole nine yards. " 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". [1] Its first usage was the punch line of an 1855 Indiana comedic short story titled "The Judge's Big Shirt".
The phrase originated in the central states of the USA in the early 20th century. All of the numerous supposed explanations as to the origin of the phrase are incorrect. The origin of this expression is considered the holy grail of etymology. Thousands of hours of research has gone into unearthing the evidence that will prove which of the many ...
Here are just a handful of the conjectures for the origin of "the whole nine yards": capacity of a ready-made concrete truck, coal truck, or garbage truck (cubic yards) amount of cloth needed for a Scottish kilt, burial shroud, or three-piece suit; length of some piece of World War II miltary equipment (bomb rack, ammunition belt, etc.)
People also ask
What is the etymology of 'the whole nine yards'?
What does 'nine yards' mean?
What does 'give 'em the whole nine yards' mean?
How old is 'the whole nine yards'?
May 1, 2012 · Published May 1, 2012. Claim: The phrase "the whole nine yards" began as a reference to the contents a cement mixer. Origins: While the meaning of "the whole nine yards" is relatively well ...
Dec 26, 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 allies went full-on in the attack on Baghdad – bombs, missiles, the whole nine yards. Where did it originate? The origin is unknown (and is probably the most sought after origin in all of etymology).
Apr 10, 1987 · One guy told me that the expression comes from the nautical term “yard,” meaning one of the horizontal poles that hold up the sails on a square-rigged sailing ship. A typical ship, he claimed, would have three masts with three yards apiece, or nine yards in all. A captain who had sent up all the canvas he could in order to squeeze out max ...
