Does anyone know the origin of the saying "the whole nine yards"?

Question

I have received 3 different answers: the number of yards in a suit, the number of yards in a ship's mast, the number of yards in a belt of machine gun ammo. Does anyone have sources for any of these options?

Answer 1

it is absolutely from the length of a machine gun ammo belt. they were twenty seven feet long. the gun barrels would get so hot, only an expert could shoot the whole nine yards without having to switch out the barrels


ALL cool sayings and phrases come from the military. they don't come from sissy tailors or fabric weavers

Answer 2

One of the most common explanations for the phrase's origin is that the expression dates from the Second World War, where "nine yards" was the length of an aircraft machine-gun ammunition belt, and to "go the full nine yards" was to use it up entirely. However, machine-gun ammunition belts were not nine yards long, and the expression has been reliably dated back only to early 1964, in U.S. Space Program slang.[1] It was also apparently popular among Air Force personnel in Vietnam.[2] By November 1967 it was recorded in use in the U.S. Army, likewise from Vietnam, and by mid-1969 was appearing in newspaper advertisements in the United States.[3] The first citation in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1970, in the magazine Word Watching.[4] Whilst no written occurrences have been found predating 1964, a number of anecdotal recollections suggest the phrase dates back at least a further decade, potentially into the 1940s. One of the better-documented cases is provided by Captain Richard Stratton, who recorded in 2005 that he encountered the phrase during naval flight training in Florida in July 1955 as part of a ribald story about a mythical Scotsman.[5] It has been suggested that there is strong circumstantial evidence it was not in general use in 1961, as Ralph Boston set a world record for the long jump that year at 27 feet, or nine yards, but no news report has been found that made any reference to the term, suggesting that journalists were unaware of it or did not regard it as common enough to use as a pun.[6] Of course, popular etymology has risen to the challenge; a vast number of explanations have been put forward to explain the purported origins of the term. Suggested sources have been as diverse as the volume of graves or concrete mixers; the length of bridal veils, kilts, burial shrouds, bolts of cloth, or saris; American football; ritual disembowelment; and the structure of certain sailing vessels. Little documentary evidence has ever surfaced supporting any of these, and many labour under the significant disadvantage of being several centuries earlier than the first recorded use of the term.

Answer 3

This phrase comes from World War 1. A machine gun used a belt of bullets nine yards long. So giving someone "the whole nine yards" was brutal.

Answer 4

Cement trucks carry nine cubic yards. Back when it wasn't as easy to transport you usually had to order either a half load or the whole 9 yards.

Answer 5

Yes.

A large sailing ship has three masts, each with three yardarms (the cross bars). From the yardarms hangs the "yards" (or sails). Therefore, 3 masts x 3 yards = 9 yards.

If a ship wanted to take advantage of the wind, i.e. go fast, the crew would unfold the "whole nine yards"

Answer 6

A custom made mens suit takes 9 yards of material.
Thats where "dressed to the nines " comes from

Answer 7

No one can say for 100% certainty its origin. But there are some suggestions and myths.