What's the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards"?

Question

Please include a link.

Answer 1

While I was a member of the Society of Creative Anachronism I heard the origin was from the early wool fabric weavers. It refers to the size of their looms. A loom could only produce nine yards at a time, the sellers always tried to get the customer to buy the whole nine yards (no reference found)

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Answer 2

The Whole Nine Yards Meaning

Answer 3

Like all tough questions there is no correct answer but I give a lot of links to tell you this.

I am of the firm belief that it comes from a dirty joke in Viet Nam that I cannot repeat in yahoo, so why bother. I believe it is alluded to in one of the many links. It ended something like "Did you show the whole nine yards?___No, just enough to win the bet?" It is an old joke, not a very good joke but most jokes of this type are not. Think about it. If it were any of the other explanations the phrase would be more remotely popular. As is it was first noted in the 60's.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_252.html

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-whole-nine-yards.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_whole_nine_yards

http://www.idiomsite.com/wholenineyards.htm

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/nineyards.htm

http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifwholenineyards.shtml

Answer 4

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 5

I heard that the saying originated in the early fighters of WWI and referred to the 9-yards of machine gun ammo. I don't know about women's dresses requiring 9 yards of materials, but a traditionally made kilt can use up to 9-yards of tartan material for a big man whereas an average sized man can get at kilt out of 7 or 8 years of material. I don't know if that has any relation to the saying or not, just a simple historical fact from an man who needs 9-yard kilts. Doc Hudson

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Answer 6

One of the most common sources for this expression is military. During World War II, U.S. fighter planes in the South Pacific were often equipped with machine gun ammunition belts. These belts, when stretched out on the ground, measured approximately 27 feet. If a pilot fired all his ammo at a target, he was said to have given "the whole nine yards."

Answer 7

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Answer 8

A good question. I heard the answer on the History Channel. It comes from WW II. A fighter plane's machine guns each contained an ammunition belt 18 feet long. If, for example, a pilot was sent out on a mission to locate an enemy truck convoy, and returned to base to have another pilot ask, "Did you find your target?" He would answer, "Yes, I gave it the whole nine yards."

Answer 9

I have always heard it refered to the amount of material it takes to make a Great Kilt.

Here is what I found and I pasted the link below.

Q. How many yards of fabric are used in making the Great Kilt?

A. Centuries ago, Highlanders not only hunted and fought in their plaid, they slept in it! The expression, "the whole 9 yards", came from the amount of material (approx. 9 yards) used to outfit our hearty ancestors. In those days, fabric was only woven in single widths (approx. 28 inches). This amount of fabric in single width is equivalent to Highland Secrets' double width fabric (between 4-1/2 and 7-1/2 yards) used in making our Great Kilts. The latter yardage represents a mighty big Highlander!

Answer 10

[Edit: My grown son saw this Q as I was reviewing some of the newer answers, HE thinks it's from the Highlanders, the Scots, back when it took the 'whole nine yards' to make and wrap the kilt and the sash, which he insists was, at one time, a one piece garment that took to make it, 'the whole nine yards'. The source for this is HIS mind and schooling, he couldn't give me a more concrete source. But since we are in such a grey area here, I thought I'd throw this into the mix.

Also, still part of the edit. Just because a phrase hits the 'general public' or 'public domain' does not necessairly mean it hasn't been in use for centuries in localities. That's why sometimes these are called colloquialisms. So, to those who are trying to LOGIC it out, they could be far off base as well, even though it sounds plausible that since it didn't hit the newsprint until such and such a year therefore it must be because it was instituted at that time during a war or what have you. I think I might just use this Q on my local speaker's group I'm part of. We have a moment where we must speak extemporaneously on a given topic. This sounds like a great one to use.And now, back to my original sharing]

Hi Mike: Well here's what I found on Wikipedia, including sources. It's the whole nine yards for your Q as far as I could tell. And it still comes up with NOTHING concrete. While we agree on what it means, we apparantly don't know where it originated, just alot of supposition from what you can see here:

The phrase "the whole nine yards" means "completely, the whole, everything" – e.g.:

"I was mugged. They took my wallet, my keys, my shoes, my cat – the whole nine yards!"


[edit] Origin
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.


[edit] References
^ Trumbell, Stephen. "Talking Hip in the Space Age", Tucson (Arizona) Daily Citizen, April 25, 1964. See also Language Log discussion
^ As recorded in "The Doom Pussy", Elaine Shepard, pub. February 1967. For a lengthy discussion, see Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, David Wilton. Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-19-517284-1
^ Pacific Stars and Stripes, 13th November 1967, and Playground Daily News, 25th April 1969, quoted in Whole Nine Yards (Barry Popik, May 14, 2005)
^ See second entry for "whole", section D, The Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, 1989. Oxford University Press. Unfortunately, no etymology for the phrase is given.
^ Communication from Richard Stratton, quoted in Whole Nine Yards (Barry Popik, May 14, 2005); see also The Scotsman's Kilt, the originating story
^ The whole nine yards - meaning and origin, Gary Martin, 2006. The Phrase Finder