Entry from
May 14, 2005
Whole Nine Yards (summary; Capt. Richard Stratton’s 1955 attestation)
This website has the whole nine yards!
"The whole nine yards" has been the great American etymological mystery of the second-half of the twentieth century. Many suggestions have been made for the phrase's meaning, but it's clear that the term spread from its wide use among military areospace personnel. Our earliest known printed citation is from 1964.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
whole nine yards U.S. colloq., everything, the whole lot; also as adv., all the way;
1970 Word Watching Apr. 7/2 *Whole nine yards, the entire thing.
1981 Washington Post 16 Jan. (Weekend sect.) 20/3 A Japanese disaster film, Virus, goes the whole nine yards, showing the city as a deserted freeway underpass.
1983 Aviation Week 7 Mar. 46/2 The Army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use space systems.
(Historical Dictionary of American Slang)
the whole nine yards
[the orig. ref. of the phr. remains obscure; var. hypotheses relating it to e.g. football yardage, cloth length in suit manufacture, or capacity of cement mixers have been shown to be unfounded. The fact that nine yards is a customary length in a burial shroud, as shown in the 1958 quot. ref. to Appalachian folklore, is provocative, butthis suggestion cannot beshown to be related]
everything possible; the WORKS. Also (later) the whole nine.
[1958 M.W. Wellman Nine Yards of Other Cloth, in Mag. of Fantasy & S.F. (Nov.): I'll weave nine yards of other cloth/For John to have and keep,/He'll need it where he's going to lie,/To warm him in his sleep.]
1966 E. Shepard Doom Pussy 173: The first thing in the early pearly morning and the last thing at night. Beds all over the gahdam house. The whole nine yards.
1970 in OED2: Whole nine yards, the entire thing.
1972 J. Morris Strawberry Soldier 18: The Combat Infantryman's Badge, a senior parachutist's badge, Vietnamese parachutist's wings, the whole nine yards of his Freddy Fascist suit.
25 April 1964, Tucson (AZ) Daily Citizen, "Talking Hip In The Space Age" by Stephen Trumbell, pg. 25:
"Give 'em the whole nine yards" means an item-by-item report on any project.
Google Books
Wings of the Tiger
by Carl Krueger
New York, NY: Frederick Fell
1966
Pg. 39:
"Okay, Tiger," it said. "Give 'em the whole nine yards. Now!" Chuck sighted through the frosted sights ground into his canopy. The hairlines crossed. He hit the toggle switch that controlled the pods. There was the sudden WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH as one hundred and fourteen rockets ejected from...
Pg. 55:
Never thought I'd see myself wanting to go the whole nine yards with any girl. Not after all these years.
Pg. 57:
"We'll go over it after de-briefing. Get me a list of all pilots and planes available. Everything. The whole nine yards.
Pg. 190:
"The whole nine yards. Everything except tomorrow's weather map
Pg. 223:
"Don't forget -- give 'em the whole nine yards!"
13 November 1967, Pacific Stars and Stripes, pg 11:
Spec. 4 Robert G. Helton, 64th Quartermaster Bin. -- "Ann Margaret -- all the way. She's got everything going for her. She dances, sings, acts -- the whole nine yards."
3 December 1982, New York Times, "On Language" by William Safire, pg. SM11:
The whole nine yards is one of the great etymological mysteries of our time.
(...)
"Stumps me completely," reports Stuart Flexner, boss of Random House's reference department. "I'm sorry to report that I've come up with exactly zilch," adds Sol Steinmetz of Barnhart Books. These guys are the heavy hitters of slang etymology: of they don't know, only one other source is left: Dr. Fred Cassidy, director-editor of the soon-to-be-published Dictionary of American Regional English, known to the lexicographic world as "the man from DARE."
"I am also thoroughly puzzled about it," replied Professor Cassidy, offering two leads churned up in his thousands of interviews: the contents of an army truck, and something to do with a bolt of cloth.
Answers.com: The Whole Nine Yards
The origins of the expression are unknown, but various theories are popularly held as to the root of it. One of the more common of these is that the expression dates from the Second World War, where the "nine yards" was the full length of a machine-gun ammunition belt, and to "go the full nine yards" was to use it up in its entirety. The expression, however, has only been dated back to 1966 (in US Air Force slang recorded in Vietnam) and it is unlikely it could have been in common use in the 1940s without being recorded either then or in the next twenty years.
Other suggested origins have included sources as diverse as the size of cement mixers, the manufacture of kilts, and the structure of certain sailing vessels (where "yard" is short for yardarm, not for the distance).
Word Origins
Newspaper columnist and language commentator James Kirkpatrick favors the explanation that it is a reference to the capacity of ready-mix concrete trucks (Fine Print: Reflections on the Writing Art). Safire also plumps for this explanation. This explanation, however, is somewhat questionable as the August 1964 issue of Ready Mixed Concrete magazine gives an average concrete mixer as having a capacity of four and a half cubic yards "just a few years ago" and an average of under six and a half in 1962. A 1988 source (Cecil Adams in More of the Straight Dope), states current mixers range from seven to ten cubic yards, with a rough average of nine. While current averages may be on target, when the phrase arose, the average cement payload was less than four and a half cubic yards. So the cement truck explanation is probably incorrect.
Chapman also suggests that it may be related to the British phrase dressed to the nines, where presumably nine has some numerological significance. He also suggests that yard may refer to the slang usage of that word to mean one hundred dollars.
Other explanations include:
The amount of dirt in a large burial plot;
The number of properties, or yards, in a standard city block in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Levittown, (pick your city);
The amount of cloth used in a burial shroud;
The capacity of coal trucks; and
The number of yards on a square rigged sailing ship (yards being the horizontal poles that hold the sails), even though it was not uncommon for such ships to have eighteen yards.
One final possibility is that it does derive from American football, but was originally intended to be ironic. To go "the whole nine yards" was to fall just short of the goal.
In summary, this is just one of those idiomatic phrases that defy explanation. This may not be satisfying, but it is not uncommon in English.
The Straight Dope
Dear Cecil:
It is an expression from the sewing circle. To this day all fabric comes in bolts of nine yards. Check it out. - Teresa H., San Antonio, Texas
Dear Cecil:
With regard to the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards," one must keep in mind the inevitable reduction of the subtle and urbane to the pedestrian and vulgar in the hands of the "teeming millions." It seems perfectly logical to me that the true meaning of the phrase does indeed spring from football. However, rather than indicating fulfillment of a goal, the phrase probably was originally intended ironically. In an instance of shortfallen achievement where a disdainful comment would be appropriate, it could be said sarcastically that "he went the whole nine yards." For example, in answering the original reader's query, Cecil certainly went the whole nine yards. - Rick A., Chicago
Cecil replies:
Contrary to common belief, cloth does not come in bolts of nine yards "to this day." Twenty to twenty-five yards is more like it.
As for the rest of you people, I'm not interested in your freaking opinions. I want facts. Since none appear to be forthcoming, I declare this discussion closed until such time as I can go investigate myself. This is the last time I ask you guys for anything.
THE WHOLE NINE YARDS (AGAIN)
Dear Cecil:
No opinions, no made up stories about wedding veils, coal, suits, or brass tacks. Based on discussions with my grandfathers, both World War II veterans, and confirmed by several military sources, here is the definitive answer for where "the whole nine yards" came from. The whole nine yards refers to the length of one ammunition belt from a belly-gunner's machine gun. When a target was overly resilient and the gunner was forced to expend all his ammunition to bring it down, it was said to have taken the "whole nine yards." Also, when loading up for a mission that was going to be particularly dangerous, gunners would refer to bringing the "whole nine yards," as they would need quite a bit of ammunition to complete the mission safely. - Ian McDonald, New York
Cecil replies:
You're not dragging me into this one again. To quote Evan Morris, the Word Detective (http://www.word-detective.com): "'The whole nine yards' first cropped up in print in the mid-1960s. . . . Even if machine gun belts really were 27 feet long in WWII, why has the phrase 'the whole nine yards' not been found in a single published account of that very well-documented war?"
-- CECIL ADAMS
Ask Yahoo!
Our first stop, Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins, did indeed have an entry devoted to "the whole nine yards," but it offers only theories, no conclusions. Some of the suggested possibilities include: nine yards as the length of cloth needed for a particular garment, nine yards as the length of a machine-gun ammunition belt, and nine yards as the amount of cement held in a typical cement-mixer. Unfortunately, Wilton also notes that these theories are chock full of holes.
Next up was Jesse's Word of the Day, a daily column by Jesse Sheidlower, Senior Editor of Random House's Reference Department. Last November, Jesse tackled the question of "the whole nine yards" and his very succinct answer was "I don't know." He does offer some of the same theories as Wilton, and, in the process, shoots them down. Plus he gives some bonus possibilities: football, ship sails, burial shrouds. We particularly enjoyed Jesse's discussion of the logic involved in debunking these theories.
Finally, when all else fails, we look to the masses for truly outlandish hypotheses. A quick search of DejaNews, the Usenet discussion search engine, lead us to a spirited debate by the denizens of alt.books.david-weber (a sci-fi author). The latest theory seems to be that nine yards is the amount of fabric required to make a Scotsman's kilt.
So we're afraid that the current Internet verdict on the origin of "the whole nine yards" is a resounding "Who knows?"
World Wide Words
What do I believe? I believe that, failing the discovery of the lexicographical equivalent of the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow, we are unlikely to find out the truth about this one.
On April 25, 2004, American Dialect Society member Fred Shapiro sent the following post to the ADS-L list, causing a brief discussion. He noticed 1969 "whole nine yards" citations from Florida that I had also noticed but had not posted:
(ADS-L message from Fred Shapiro)
I have discovered some significant new evidence on "whole nine yards."
Stephen Goranson has energetically promoted the theory that "whole nine yards" derives from "yards" referring to the Montagnard tribes in Vietnam. I don't think too many people find this convincing, but Mr. Goranson has performed the useful service of emphasizing that all the earliest known citations were from a Vietnam War context, suggesting some kind of Vietnam-related origin.
However, I have now found what I believe is the second oldest occurrence of "whole nine yards" (Elaine Shepard's 1967 Vietnam-related book _Doom Pussy_ is the oldest known). Newspaperarchive.com yields the following:
1969 _Playground Daily News_ (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) 25 Apr. 15
(advertisement) This home has the "whole nine yards" in convenience.
It is of course possible that "whole nine yards" could have disseminated from a Vietnam origin to Florida in the three or more years between when it was first used in the Vietnam War and 1969. However, 1969 is early enough to suggest that the term may have originated in the United States rather than in Indochina.
Fred Shapiro
(ADS-L message from Dave Wilton)
Note that Fort Walton Beach is home to Eglin Air Force Base. So an Air Force connection (as in _Doom Pussy_) remains a viable possibility.
--Dave Wilton
http://www.wilton.net
(ADS-L message from Jesse Sheidlower)
Keeping in mind that your cite is actually the third-earliest - there's a 1968 cite in one of the Current Slang volumes, from the U.S. Air Force Academy - and that Fort Walton Beach, Florida is the home of an Air Force base, I'd suggest we're still looking at an Air Force origin for this.
Jesse Sheidlower
OED
(ADS-L message from Doug Wilson)
Note that Fort Walton Beach is immediately adjacent to Eglin AFB.
The evidence available (although inadequate) so far suggests an origin in the USAF, IMHO.
-- Doug Wilson
In the spring of 2005, Newspaperarchive.com digitized the Oakland (CA) Tribune. I found this:
21 March 1973, Oakland (CA) Tribune, pg. 5, col. 1:
Ex-POWs Seen as
Symbols of All GIs
By Richard Paoli
The returning prisoners of war symbolize every American that fought in Vietnam, Cmdr. Richard A. Stratton, of Palo Alto, told newsmen at a press conference yesterday at Oakland Naval Hospital.
(...)
"The interesting thing that I have noticed is a new freedom of spirit," said Stratton, a soft touch of New England twang in his voice. "I think the long hair, short skirts, loud music, fancy cars - the whole nine yards - simply resolves itself into a new freedom."
(ADS-L message from Bill Mullins)
If someone wants to ask him directly, CAPT Stratton has a web page here:
http://www.geocities.com/talesofseasia/
and his email address is on this page:
http://us.geocities.yahoo.com/gb/view?member=talesofseasia (4th entry)
(May 13, 2005 e-mail response from Richard Stratton)
Barry,
The most unique request I have received since 1973!
Etymology of "whole nine yards"?
1. Where first heard?
Navy School of Preflight in July 1955 at the ACRAAC (Aviation Cadet Recreation and Athletic Club - a base beer hall; NavCad's could not use O Club). Home of salacious & scatological songs, shaggy dog stories and off beat humor.
2. What meaning then?
Referred to the mythical Andy McTavish's private member and the scarf knitted by him for the birthday of his affianced, Mary Margaret MacMuff.
3. Explained in detail?
Yes, in great detail. One of a series of stories and songs enshrining the courtship of Andy and Mary Margaret.
4. US or VN?
United States - NAS Pensacola FL
5. Aviator usage in 1973?
The "whole nine yards" joined "the whole kit and caboodle" as meaning "all inclusive", "containing each and every element" and "a whole without any exceptions". It had lost all sexual reference or innuendo.
Attached for your information.
Dick
(See the next entry for the attachment -- ed.)
"The whole nine yards" has been the great American etymological mystery of the second-half of the twentieth century. Many suggestions have been made for the phrase's meaning, but it's clear that the term spread from its wide use among military areospace personnel. Our earliest known printed citation is from 1964.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
whole nine yards U.S. colloq., everything, the whole lot; also as adv., all the way;
1970 Word Watching Apr. 7/2 *Whole nine yards, the entire thing.
1981 Washington Post 16 Jan. (Weekend sect.) 20/3 A Japanese disaster film, Virus, goes the whole nine yards, showing the city as a deserted freeway underpass.
1983 Aviation Week 7 Mar. 46/2 The Army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use space systems.
(Historical Dictionary of American Slang)
the whole nine yards
[the orig. ref. of the phr. remains obscure; var. hypotheses relating it to e.g. football yardage, cloth length in suit manufacture, or capacity of cement mixers have been shown to be unfounded. The fact that nine yards is a customary length in a burial shroud, as shown in the 1958 quot. ref. to Appalachian folklore, is provocative, butthis suggestion cannot beshown to be related]
everything possible; the WORKS. Also (later) the whole nine.
[1958 M.W. Wellman Nine Yards of Other Cloth, in Mag. of Fantasy & S.F. (Nov.): I'll weave nine yards of other cloth/For John to have and keep,/He'll need it where he's going to lie,/To warm him in his sleep.]
1966 E. Shepard Doom Pussy 173: The first thing in the early pearly morning and the last thing at night. Beds all over the gahdam house. The whole nine yards.
1970 in OED2: Whole nine yards, the entire thing.
1972 J. Morris Strawberry Soldier 18: The Combat Infantryman's Badge, a senior parachutist's badge, Vietnamese parachutist's wings, the whole nine yards of his Freddy Fascist suit.
25 April 1964, Tucson (AZ) Daily Citizen, "Talking Hip In The Space Age" by Stephen Trumbell, pg. 25:
"Give 'em the whole nine yards" means an item-by-item report on any project.
Google Books
Wings of the Tiger
by Carl Krueger
New York, NY: Frederick Fell
1966
Pg. 39:
"Okay, Tiger," it said. "Give 'em the whole nine yards. Now!" Chuck sighted through the frosted sights ground into his canopy. The hairlines crossed. He hit the toggle switch that controlled the pods. There was the sudden WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH as one hundred and fourteen rockets ejected from...
Pg. 55:
Never thought I'd see myself wanting to go the whole nine yards with any girl. Not after all these years.
Pg. 57:
"We'll go over it after de-briefing. Get me a list of all pilots and planes available. Everything. The whole nine yards.
Pg. 190:
"The whole nine yards. Everything except tomorrow's weather map
Pg. 223:
"Don't forget -- give 'em the whole nine yards!"
13 November 1967, Pacific Stars and Stripes, pg 11:
Spec. 4 Robert G. Helton, 64th Quartermaster Bin. -- "Ann Margaret -- all the way. She's got everything going for her. She dances, sings, acts -- the whole nine yards."
3 December 1982, New York Times, "On Language" by William Safire, pg. SM11:
The whole nine yards is one of the great etymological mysteries of our time.
(...)
"Stumps me completely," reports Stuart Flexner, boss of Random House's reference department. "I'm sorry to report that I've come up with exactly zilch," adds Sol Steinmetz of Barnhart Books. These guys are the heavy hitters of slang etymology: of they don't know, only one other source is left: Dr. Fred Cassidy, director-editor of the soon-to-be-published Dictionary of American Regional English, known to the lexicographic world as "the man from DARE."
"I am also thoroughly puzzled about it," replied Professor Cassidy, offering two leads churned up in his thousands of interviews: the contents of an army truck, and something to do with a bolt of cloth.
Answers.com: The Whole Nine Yards
The origins of the expression are unknown, but various theories are popularly held as to the root of it. One of the more common of these is that the expression dates from the Second World War, where the "nine yards" was the full length of a machine-gun ammunition belt, and to "go the full nine yards" was to use it up in its entirety. The expression, however, has only been dated back to 1966 (in US Air Force slang recorded in Vietnam) and it is unlikely it could have been in common use in the 1940s without being recorded either then or in the next twenty years.
Other suggested origins have included sources as diverse as the size of cement mixers, the manufacture of kilts, and the structure of certain sailing vessels (where "yard" is short for yardarm, not for the distance).
Word Origins
Newspaper columnist and language commentator James Kirkpatrick favors the explanation that it is a reference to the capacity of ready-mix concrete trucks (Fine Print: Reflections on the Writing Art). Safire also plumps for this explanation. This explanation, however, is somewhat questionable as the August 1964 issue of Ready Mixed Concrete magazine gives an average concrete mixer as having a capacity of four and a half cubic yards "just a few years ago" and an average of under six and a half in 1962. A 1988 source (Cecil Adams in More of the Straight Dope), states current mixers range from seven to ten cubic yards, with a rough average of nine. While current averages may be on target, when the phrase arose, the average cement payload was less than four and a half cubic yards. So the cement truck explanation is probably incorrect.
Chapman also suggests that it may be related to the British phrase dressed to the nines, where presumably nine has some numerological significance. He also suggests that yard may refer to the slang usage of that word to mean one hundred dollars.
Other explanations include:
The amount of dirt in a large burial plot;
The number of properties, or yards, in a standard city block in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Levittown, (pick your city);
The amount of cloth used in a burial shroud;
The capacity of coal trucks; and
The number of yards on a square rigged sailing ship (yards being the horizontal poles that hold the sails), even though it was not uncommon for such ships to have eighteen yards.
One final possibility is that it does derive from American football, but was originally intended to be ironic. To go "the whole nine yards" was to fall just short of the goal.
In summary, this is just one of those idiomatic phrases that defy explanation. This may not be satisfying, but it is not uncommon in English.
The Straight Dope
Dear Cecil:
It is an expression from the sewing circle. To this day all fabric comes in bolts of nine yards. Check it out. - Teresa H., San Antonio, Texas
Dear Cecil:
With regard to the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards," one must keep in mind the inevitable reduction of the subtle and urbane to the pedestrian and vulgar in the hands of the "teeming millions." It seems perfectly logical to me that the true meaning of the phrase does indeed spring from football. However, rather than indicating fulfillment of a goal, the phrase probably was originally intended ironically. In an instance of shortfallen achievement where a disdainful comment would be appropriate, it could be said sarcastically that "he went the whole nine yards." For example, in answering the original reader's query, Cecil certainly went the whole nine yards. - Rick A., Chicago
Cecil replies:
Contrary to common belief, cloth does not come in bolts of nine yards "to this day." Twenty to twenty-five yards is more like it.
As for the rest of you people, I'm not interested in your freaking opinions. I want facts. Since none appear to be forthcoming, I declare this discussion closed until such time as I can go investigate myself. This is the last time I ask you guys for anything.
THE WHOLE NINE YARDS (AGAIN)
Dear Cecil:
No opinions, no made up stories about wedding veils, coal, suits, or brass tacks. Based on discussions with my grandfathers, both World War II veterans, and confirmed by several military sources, here is the definitive answer for where "the whole nine yards" came from. The whole nine yards refers to the length of one ammunition belt from a belly-gunner's machine gun. When a target was overly resilient and the gunner was forced to expend all his ammunition to bring it down, it was said to have taken the "whole nine yards." Also, when loading up for a mission that was going to be particularly dangerous, gunners would refer to bringing the "whole nine yards," as they would need quite a bit of ammunition to complete the mission safely. - Ian McDonald, New York
Cecil replies:
You're not dragging me into this one again. To quote Evan Morris, the Word Detective (http://www.word-detective.com): "'The whole nine yards' first cropped up in print in the mid-1960s. . . . Even if machine gun belts really were 27 feet long in WWII, why has the phrase 'the whole nine yards' not been found in a single published account of that very well-documented war?"
-- CECIL ADAMS
Ask Yahoo!
Our first stop, Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins, did indeed have an entry devoted to "the whole nine yards," but it offers only theories, no conclusions. Some of the suggested possibilities include: nine yards as the length of cloth needed for a particular garment, nine yards as the length of a machine-gun ammunition belt, and nine yards as the amount of cement held in a typical cement-mixer. Unfortunately, Wilton also notes that these theories are chock full of holes.
Next up was Jesse's Word of the Day, a daily column by Jesse Sheidlower, Senior Editor of Random House's Reference Department. Last November, Jesse tackled the question of "the whole nine yards" and his very succinct answer was "I don't know." He does offer some of the same theories as Wilton, and, in the process, shoots them down. Plus he gives some bonus possibilities: football, ship sails, burial shrouds. We particularly enjoyed Jesse's discussion of the logic involved in debunking these theories.
Finally, when all else fails, we look to the masses for truly outlandish hypotheses. A quick search of DejaNews, the Usenet discussion search engine, lead us to a spirited debate by the denizens of alt.books.david-weber (a sci-fi author). The latest theory seems to be that nine yards is the amount of fabric required to make a Scotsman's kilt.
So we're afraid that the current Internet verdict on the origin of "the whole nine yards" is a resounding "Who knows?"
World Wide Words
What do I believe? I believe that, failing the discovery of the lexicographical equivalent of the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow, we are unlikely to find out the truth about this one.
On April 25, 2004, American Dialect Society member Fred Shapiro sent the following post to the ADS-L list, causing a brief discussion. He noticed 1969 "whole nine yards" citations from Florida that I had also noticed but had not posted:
(ADS-L message from Fred Shapiro)
I have discovered some significant new evidence on "whole nine yards."
Stephen Goranson has energetically promoted the theory that "whole nine yards" derives from "yards" referring to the Montagnard tribes in Vietnam. I don't think too many people find this convincing, but Mr. Goranson has performed the useful service of emphasizing that all the earliest known citations were from a Vietnam War context, suggesting some kind of Vietnam-related origin.
However, I have now found what I believe is the second oldest occurrence of "whole nine yards" (Elaine Shepard's 1967 Vietnam-related book _Doom Pussy_ is the oldest known). Newspaperarchive.com yields the following:
1969 _Playground Daily News_ (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) 25 Apr. 15
(advertisement) This home has the "whole nine yards" in convenience.
It is of course possible that "whole nine yards" could have disseminated from a Vietnam origin to Florida in the three or more years between when it was first used in the Vietnam War and 1969. However, 1969 is early enough to suggest that the term may have originated in the United States rather than in Indochina.
Fred Shapiro
(ADS-L message from Dave Wilton)
Note that Fort Walton Beach is home to Eglin Air Force Base. So an Air Force connection (as in _Doom Pussy_) remains a viable possibility.
--Dave Wilton
http://www.wilton.net
(ADS-L message from Jesse Sheidlower)
Keeping in mind that your cite is actually the third-earliest - there's a 1968 cite in one of the Current Slang volumes, from the U.S. Air Force Academy - and that Fort Walton Beach, Florida is the home of an Air Force base, I'd suggest we're still looking at an Air Force origin for this.
Jesse Sheidlower
OED
(ADS-L message from Doug Wilson)
Note that Fort Walton Beach is immediately adjacent to Eglin AFB.
The evidence available (although inadequate) so far suggests an origin in the USAF, IMHO.
-- Doug Wilson
In the spring of 2005, Newspaperarchive.com digitized the Oakland (CA) Tribune. I found this:
21 March 1973, Oakland (CA) Tribune, pg. 5, col. 1:
Ex-POWs Seen as
Symbols of All GIs
By Richard Paoli
The returning prisoners of war symbolize every American that fought in Vietnam, Cmdr. Richard A. Stratton, of Palo Alto, told newsmen at a press conference yesterday at Oakland Naval Hospital.
(...)
"The interesting thing that I have noticed is a new freedom of spirit," said Stratton, a soft touch of New England twang in his voice. "I think the long hair, short skirts, loud music, fancy cars - the whole nine yards - simply resolves itself into a new freedom."
(ADS-L message from Bill Mullins)
If someone wants to ask him directly, CAPT Stratton has a web page here:
http://www.geocities.com/talesofseasia/
and his email address is on this page:
http://us.geocities.yahoo.com/gb/view?member=talesofseasia (4th entry)
(May 13, 2005 e-mail response from Richard Stratton)
Barry,
The most unique request I have received since 1973!
Etymology of "whole nine yards"?
1. Where first heard?
Navy School of Preflight in July 1955 at the ACRAAC (Aviation Cadet Recreation and Athletic Club - a base beer hall; NavCad's could not use O Club). Home of salacious & scatological songs, shaggy dog stories and off beat humor.
2. What meaning then?
Referred to the mythical Andy McTavish's private member and the scarf knitted by him for the birthday of his affianced, Mary Margaret MacMuff.
3. Explained in detail?
Yes, in great detail. One of a series of stories and songs enshrining the courtship of Andy and Mary Margaret.
4. US or VN?
United States - NAS Pensacola FL
5. Aviator usage in 1973?
The "whole nine yards" joined "the whole kit and caboodle" as meaning "all inclusive", "containing each and every element" and "a whole without any exceptions". It had lost all sexual reference or innuendo.
Attached for your information.
Dick
(See the next entry for the attachment -- ed.)
Posted by Barry Popik
Other Expressions • Origin of "The Whole Nine Yards" • (0) Comments • Saturday, May 14, 2005 • Permalink
Other Expressions • Origin of "The Whole Nine Yards" • (0) Comments • Saturday, May 14, 2005 • Permalink