(no subject)

[winterbadger]

The weekend before last, there was some discussion of the phrase "the whole nine yards" which got me wondering where it *really* cones from. I consulted three sources I consider unimpeachable, especially when used together: Michael Quinion's World Wide Words, Cecil Adam's The Straight Dope, and Wikipedia (whose entry was almost entirely cribbed from a site called the Phrase Finder.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/nineyards.htm
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_252.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-whole-nine-yards.html

The consensus seems to be that:

The phrase dates from the mid-twentieth century.
The phrase is American in origin.
No one is really sure where it comes from.
Everyone is bloody convinced *they* know where it comes from.
None of those people who are so damn sure they know where it comes from have any evidence whatsoever.

So, there you have it.

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting that. As you might guess, I've been involved in that discussion too at times.