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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for April 27, 1999
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the whole nine yards
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To go the whole nine yards is to carry some act to full completion,
with a sense that it is accomplished without stopping and at full
speed. "When Desmond built his boat, he went the whole nine yards,
from cutting and shaping the timber to applying the final touches of
brass trim."
It may seem like the phrase has something to do with team sports. Do
the nine yards represent distance won or lost on a football field?
Although the expression is popular among sports fans, the origin lies
elsewhere.
One theory says the expression came from the cement delivery industry,
where a rotating mixer truck carries nine cubic yards of cement. To
discharge the whole nine yards would be to fully complete the task.
Another theory describes the space between the inner and outer walls
of a prison, which was nine yards wide. To go the whole nine yards
was to escape entirely.
The most popular theory refers to World War II war planes, which
carried machine gun ammunition belts 27 feet (nine yards) long. To
discharge the whole nine yards was to fully empty the belt.
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