What is the meaning of "the whole nine yard"?

Answer 1

This phrase, "the whole nine yard", came from the days when the sail was the most powerful means of capturing the oceanic wind's motive power. The nine yard sail would be used when the wind was light and hull speed was most desirable.

Hull speed's the maximum speed at which a hull will efficiently ply through water and is dependent upon the hull's ratio of length versus width, among other factors in its design, and to environmental factors at play like wave height, and swell.

On a square rigged sailing vessel, the nine yards, (or twenty seven feet width sail), was the uppermost sail which was furled and tied to a cross bar when the conditions got too windy or rough for a smooth passage, and was quickly able to be unfurled when the conditions improved and the winds died down somewhat. Then the whole nine yard would compliment the other sails' total efficiency.

More recently, the term's come to mean encouragement
for you to persevere when the going's getting tough.
For example I might tell you then to, "go the whole nine yard".
This means I'm telling you to try your hardest.

Well, that's my understanding.

For what it's worth, I had the term explained to me in Sydney Australia when I misused it by adding the, "s" to, "yard", and this was about fifty-three years ago by my teacher at primary school. So I must have heard it used infrequently, but often enough for it to have been learned from ordinary usage.

As I recall, it was "older men", who used it most. People old enough to probably have served in the first world war, rather than those having served in the second, and these would use the term correctly.

Television wasn't available then, and the most heavy American influence on us in those days would have been the "Western" type of matinees that we would see at the picture theaters on Saturdays, so we wouldn't have gotten "the whole nine yard" expression from the "Yanks". Our most strong influence came from the British Isles, so in all probability it emanated from their sailors.

The term "the whole nine yards" is an altogether different expression although it came to mean the same thing, and it probably developed from an abuse of the original expression being colloquially applied and related to locally recognized conditions. At least I can confirm that this misuse of the original maritime expression by me fifty-three years ago wasn't unique!

Hope this helps you to go "the whole nine yard",
and as well cover rapidly "the whole nine yards!"

As you can see there is now a subtle difference in the nuance of these two terms, which has developed over time and distance, and can now be recognized because of common world wide Internet intercommunication.

I've just realized that one of my personal problems might have stalked me from infancy, and from being "pushed too hard" in my youth. That problem was "perfectionism".

Nowadays I see that maturity is much more valuable to me than perfection.

No one can attain perfection in everything, and realizing this fact, can, hopefully, help one to better follow the way to maturity.

Bob D

Answer 2

the meaning is very plain to figure out. from my backdoor (kitchen) to the out house was exactly 27 feet (nine yards) and on a cold winter day (or night) we had to travel this path with much chagrin yet often frequently. after making the trip we were often asked if we made it all right and the answer was " yes but i had to run the whole nine yards." i might add that this was 1932, well after the first but well before the second wars and during the time that sears roebuck catalogs were the most popular book in town.

Answer 3

There seems to be some debate about where it came from as explained on the web sites below. The phrase is "The Whole Nine Yards" and basically means "Everything" or "Completely" regardless of its origins. As far as I know it has nothing to do with golf.

Answer 4

The actual background of this goes back to World War Two. 50 caliber machine gun ammunition belts in an aircraft of the period measured exactly 27 feet. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, they would say that it got “the whole nine yards”.

Answer 5

It refers to " the whole 9 yards " of fabric required to make a mans suit...

Answer 6

You gotta be a golfer to understand.
It has to do with putting the ball in the hole,
one of the hardest shots.

Answer 7

All of it..... the full measure