Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
The reference to Whole Nine Yards is a military reference. It was the length of the belt/ribbon of bullets fed into a Browning machine gun. Hence giving them the whole none yards.....
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
Gee, we've never heard that before.One of many previous discussions.Another one.And another.The site you mention repeats a common story but provides no evidence that the phrase was actually used in...
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
Maybe somebody's said this before, and maybe it's obvious, but let me point out that the question is one of etymology, not one of engineering. The question is about a phrase, not about a piece of...
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
Good points. This is precisely why expertise in guns carries no particular authority to decide the question. To presume that it does is circular reasoning: it assumes that the gun origin is true,...
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
The air force machinegun origin is compatible from an engineering standpoint. Most (but not all) WWII fighters carried a standard load of 500 rounds per .50-cal machinegun. A belt of 500 .50-cal...
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
I think Dave Wilton means 400 rounds, which was a very common ammo-belt length (although not universal even for a given gun on a given plane).The .50-cal. shell appears to have been 0.804" in outer...
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
the etymology cannot be established without some citations showing the development of the phrasePeriod. Speculation is amusing but in this case, I'm afraid, fruitless.
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
This site has a nice forthright approach to the subject. I particularly like "We don't want to hear your explanation of 'nine yards,' unless you have documentable evidence to indicate that it is true."
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
I wrote that. I updated the language section for the alt.folklore.urban FAQ a few years back.
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
Ah. That explains the Frenchwoman/Frau comparision in the "Squaw" entry.
View ArticleRe: Whole Nine Yards origin misquote
So Dave -- is the "whole nine yards" included in your new book ("Word Myths") about to be published by Oxford Press?
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